Set it up
by Natascha Romanoff
Summary: Romanogers AU: Steve Rogers' life is good. He has a great job and the most adorable daughter, he doesn't need a woman in his life. His mother and daughter seem to disagree and are convinced that the woman who gives dance lessons at the community center would be perfect for Steve.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter I

Steve Rogers was late. He thanked the universe that he had been fast enough and caught the subway that would bring him from Manhattan back to Brooklyn but he would still be late to pick up his daughter Wanda from her dancing class at the community center near the block where they lived. Usually his mother picked her up but she was out of town this week and it was his turn. And he would have been punctual if Thor Odinson, the star author of the children's book Steve illustrated, hadn't shown up at the publishing house last minute to go with him over his new story. He looked at his watch and sighed. He would be at least 15 minutes too late. God, he hated it when he failed his little girl.

Wanda wasn't his biological daughter but he couldn't imagine that he would love her any more if she were. One look into her green eyes and he had known that he was supposed to be her father. That they were meant to cross paths. He had been stationed in Sokovia protecting an orphanage when he'd met her. He had fallen in love with her and his whole life had changed in that moment. He'd left the army and set everything in motion to adopt her. It hadn't been easy as a single man but shortly after Wanda's first birthday he had been able to take her home. To the States where she would be safe and could have a better life. His mother had been supporting him from the first second and they'd lived with her during Wanda's first year in America until he'd found a job as an illustrator. He wasn't rich but he made enough money for him and his daughter to live a comfortable life. Wanda was now seven and there wasn't a day where he wasn't thankful that she came into his life.

He checked his watch again and yes, he would definitely be too late and he couldn't even call the community center because his phone'd died earlier today. Great! He sometimes wondered if all parents felt like a failure from time to time.

His gaze fell on a couple a few feet away from him. The man was holding onto the the support strap and the woman had her arms wrapped around his middle looking up at the guy. Steve couldn't even remember the last time he had been on a date. No woman really peaked his interest and he wasn't the guy for casual flings and he had to think about Wanda. He couldn't just introduce her to someone and then the woman disappeared out of their lives a few months later because it didn't work. No, he couldn't risk Wanda falling in love with someone.

He didn't need a girlfriend. No matter what anyone else said. His mother sometimes mentioned that Wanda needed a female influence in her life besides her grandmother and Bucky'd told him more than once that he needed to get laid. He'd rolled his eyes at Buck since sex wasn't everything but he did wonder if his mother was right. Wanda did look sad sometimes when she saw other girls with their mothers. His bond with his daughter was strong and special but what if she needed a mother? His own mother was great with Wanda but what if his little girl needed more? And he had to admit deep down that it would be nice to have someone to share his life with. To raise Wanda with someone, to share this bed with someone. But that someone would have to be perfect to let her into Wanda's life (and heart) and he didn't think such a woman existed. He knew that women were attracted to him ever since his miraculous growth spur in high school but he always doubted that those women would have looked twice at him if he were still a shrimp.

The subway finally reached his destination and he jumped off his seat and ran through the subway station, up the stairs and down the street until he finally saw the community center. Wanda would mostly likely be mad since both Steve and his mother always told her that punctuality was very important. He opened the double door and looked around. His little one wasn't waiting in the entrance hall. She was probably still in the gym. He hadn't been at the community center in ages but he still remembered from his childhood where the gym was.

He walked towards the gym and music was blasting through the open doors. He was pretty sure that it were the Spice Girls. Bucky's sister had been obsessed with them and listening to them 24/7 driving her older brother insane. A woman was with her back to him dancing to the music. Her red hair was in the way on top of her head that Wanda always wanted and he failed every time. Why was a _messy_ bun so damn complicated?! Before he could stop himself, his gaze landed on her bottom and legs and they filled out her yoga pants really nicely. Woah, since when was _he_ the guy who stared at a woman's ass? He wasn't like that!

He quickly looked up and the woman turned around and Wanda came into his view. The red head was dancing with his daughter! They were holding hands and Wanda tried to mimic the woman's moves. He couldn't stop his lips from curving into a smile. It was a beautiful sight before him that warmed his heart. The woman was smiling at his daughter and he now only realized how beautiful she was. Wow, this woman was _stunning_! She looked up and her smile vanished. Her face darkened and she pushed Wanda behind her. Why?

"What do you think you're doing here, buddy?" She barked still hiding his daughter behind her. She was at least a foot smaller than him but she still seemed dangerous in that moment. "Get lost before I call the cops!"

Wait, what? Did she think he was some creep? "Uh, I.."

Wanda's head peaked around the woman's waist. "That's just my daddy, Miss Natasha!" She giggled and stepped forward. "Hi, daddy!" She ran forward and slung her arms around his waist.

The woman's face was now almost as red as her hair. "Oh god! I...I had no idea! I'm sorry! It's just that Sarah always picks up Wanda." She looked mortified and the urge to comfort her surprised him. And his mother let this woman call her _Sarah?_

"Don't worry. She usually does but my ma's on a cruise with some friends. I'm actually glad to know that my daughter is safe with you." He laughed and ruffled Wanda's hair. "I'm Steve Rogers, ma'am." He offered her his hand and after some hesitation she shook it. Her skin was warm and soft.

"Natasha Romanoff. Nice to meet you. Wanda has told me quite a lot about you." She said with a smile and Wanda looked up at him with a grin on her face. His daughter had also mentioned a Miss Natasha from time to time, but he had no idea the woman Wanda had been raving about would be like _this_. So beautiful and...Okay, stop right there, Steve!

"Daddy, can Miss Natasha come with us? Pleeease?" She looked up at him with her big green eyes and he was tempted to say yes.

"That's very sweet of you, Wanda! But I already got plans." She said with a smile to Wanda and then looked at him with an understanding look. What, did she think he didn't want her to tag along? The truth was he wouldn't mind if she did and that surprised him. But she probably really had plans. With her boyfriend. A woman that beautiful and with a nice personality from what he could see was definitely not single. Why did he care if she was taken or not?

"Oh." Wanda looked disappointed and he kinda shared the sentiment. "Another time?"

"We'll see. Don't forget your tutu." She told his daughter and Wanda walked over to the bench to get her backpack and tutu. "It was nice to meet you, Mr. Rogers."

"Please call me Steve." He said immediately and hoped he wasn't blushing.

She smiled warmly and she looked even _more_ beautiful. How was that even possible? "Only if you call me Natasha."

He nodded. "Natasha." Wanda was back and pushed her backpack into his hands. "Have a nice day." He said to Natasha and chided himself mentally for not saying something better. _Have a nice day_ , how original! He wished in that moment that he was as smooth as his best friend Bucky.

"You, too. And I see you next week." She said to Wanda who beamed brightly.

"Yes! I can't wait! See you, Miss Natasha!"

He took Wanda's hand and walked with her to the open doors and turned around before they walked through them. Natasha was watching them with a smile on her face and waved when she saw him looking. He hoped he was hiding his blush and gave her a quick nod before he left with Wanda the gym.

They were already halfway home when Wanda tugged on his hand. "Daddy?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Miss Natasha is single."

His eyes widened. "What?"

"Granny asked her if she was single and she said yes. Granny seemed to be happy about that. Aren't you single, too?"

He stopped dead in his tracks. "What?"

"Can we watch Moana when we get home?" Wanda asked like she'd forgotten the first part of their conversation.

"Uh, sure."

She smiled and tugged on his hand to get him walking again. What on earth was his mother up to _now_?

* * *

 _Welcome to a new story! The idea for this AU had been in my head for some time now and I thought it was time to finally write it. I hope you'll enjoy it and don't hesitate to tell me what you think!_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II

Not that he would ever admit it but Steve was really tempted to pick up Wanda from her dancing class next week but he still didn't know his mother's plans and he didn't want to add gasoline to the fire. His ma hadn't mentioned

Natasha to him at all since Wanda had started the class a couple of weeks ago and that alone now made him suspicious. Why didn't she tell him how beautiful and amazing Natasha was? Not that he was interested in her. He barely knew her and he wasn't looking for a girlfriend. He'd just never seen such a beautiful woman before and he wasn't blind, okay?

Sunday afternoons were always spend at his mother's house and he smiled at Wanda's attempt to do a messy bun when she walked into the living room of their apartment. He wondered if she was so obsessed with buns because her dance teacher had been wearing one this week. He helped his daughter into her vest since it was pretty chilly for September and together they walked to his mother's house. She opened the door after the second of Wanda's rings and both Rogers' women seemed to be over the moon to see each other again. Ma had only be gone for five days for her cruise! He chuckled and then wrapped his arms around his mother. She had always been his rock and he knew that he wouldn't be able to raise Wanda without her.

"Hey, sweetheart." She kissed his cheek and let him in and he only watched how Wanda ran into her grandmother's living room after she'd told her that she had a gift for her.

"How was the cruise, Ma?"

She smiled and it still amazed him how young his mother still looked. "Incredible! I already booked the next one." She laughed and he followed her into the kitchen. "How was it with the munchkin?"

"Ma, I can look after my own child for a few days!"

"I know, I know. I just worry about you two. So how was it?"

"Good. No fires and we're both still alive." He joked and his mother smacked his arm.

"That's not funny, Steven!"

Wanda came in that moment into the kitchen, hugging a giant stuffed seal against her chest. Jesus Christ, that thing was almost as tall as his kid! "Thank you so much, Granny! I love it!"

"I knew you would!" His mother smiled at Wanda. "I also got us a book about them and other sea animals, munchkin. Do you wanna read it with me later?"

"Yes!" Wanda nodded eagerly since she loved animals. He already saw a visit to the zoo in the foreseeable future. Sarah moved a plate with cookies towards Wanda who immediately grabbed one. He could have only dreamed about his mother giving him cookies before lunch as a child but he guessed that it was different with grandchildren.

His mother was finishing the roast and he stole a cookie from Wanda's plate which earned him a scowl from his daughter. But it looked more adorable than scary. "Granny?" Was she really gonna tell on him?

"Yes, dear?" She was with her back to them making the sauce.

"Daddy met Miss Natasha!"

Sarah turned around with a smile on her face. "Really?"

He didn't say anything but his daughter did. "Yes! When he picked me up from her class! He was too late and Miss Natasha stayed with me even though she had to work and we danced to the Spiced Girls!"

"Spice Girls, munchkin." Sarah laughed. Natasha'd stayed with his kid even though she'd had to work? He should have thanked her. She probably thought that he was an asshole.

"That's what I said!" Wanda pouted. "Anyway, we danced and then daddy came. Miss Natasha is such a great dancer! I wanna be as good as her one day!"

"With enough practice, maybe you will." His mother said to Wanda and told him to set the table. Her not really paying attention to the fact that he had met Natasha made him even more suspicious. What? Did his mother think that Natasha would want to date him? He was pretty sure that a woman like her could have any guy. Why would she go for a single dad? Not that he wanted her to go for him!

During lunch they talked mostly about his mother's cruise and what Wanda had learned in school this week. She was excused from the table when they heard the neighbor dog barking and Wanda left to play with him.

He decided to just confront his mother about Natasha. "Why did you ask Natasha if she was single?"

Ma just smiled. " _Natasha_ , huh? I was just curious about the woman who teaches my granddaughter to dance. Don't you think it's important to get to know the people who spend time with Wanda?"

"Sure."

"And I was just asking because I wanted to know if there was someone who could potentially ask her to get married and then she would stop volunteering at the community center, Steven. And wouldn't that be sad for Wanda? She loves dancing so much."

He knew that his mother was bullshitting him since she was a feminist and there was no way that she would think that a woman would or should quit her job once she got engaged. "Sure, ma."

"Don't use that tone, Steven! I asked her other stuff, okay?"

He got curious since he pretty much knew nothing about her. Only that she was incredibly beautiful and according to Wanda the coolest person ever. "And what?" He asked nonchalantly. A quick smirk flashed over his mother's face and he knew that she knew that she got him. Fuck!

"I just asked her the usual stuff, you know? What she was doing and so." He waited for her to continue but she didn't. "Oh, did you want me to tell you?" She looked like she was having way too much fun. "She's doing PR for some big company in Manhattan. Wanted originally to be a ballerina but had to quit due to an injury. She's doing the classes in her free time since she still loves dancing. All the children adore her. I've never seen so many dads pick up their kids before." She laughed and he knew she told him that on purpose. "She's originally from Russia. Wanda is convinced that she's Anastasia." His mother laughed and he had to smile. That really did sound like his kid. "And she speaks Sokovian."

"What?" Pretty much no one he knew spoke the language and he only knew a bit. He'd looked for a teacher so Wanda could learn her mother tongue but most Sokovians refused to speak the language since it stirred too many bad memories.

"Yeah, apparently she learned it back in Russia. I was wondering if I should ask her if she could teach Wanda a few things?"

"Ma, she's already teaching her to dance for free. We can't ask her to do that."

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind!"

He didn't know why but he thought so too. But maybe she would just feel pressured. His mother could be a force of nature. "Please don't ask her."

"Fine. And what do you think about Natasha?"

"Wanda seems to like her." He asked avoiding her question.

"Oh, yes. She's pretty much in love with her. Natasha is really special, isn't she?" His mother said with a sparkle in her eyes and now he definitely knew that she wanted them to date. God, he was a thirty four year old man! He was too old for his mother to meddle with his life!

* * *

Bucky was "driving" Wanda around the apartment in a laundry basket when Steve came home. He'd had to stay longer at work again since they were almost done with Thor Odinson's new book and finishing a book was always hectic. He was really thankful for Uncle Bucky or _Buckybear_ how Wanda had started calling him after he had given her a teddy bear for her second birthday.

"Another round, Buckybear!" Wanda squealed and Buck groaned.

"I'm not the youngest anymore, kiddo!"

"Pleeease!" She said with a pout and Bucky rolled his eyes.

"Okay, but that's the last round!"

Wanda was waving at him when they passed him in the hallway. "Hi, daddy!"

"Your kid is a menace!" Bucky complained.

"I heard that, Uncle Buchanan." She only called him that when she was mad at him. His mother called Bucky Buchanan when she was unhappy with him and Wanda'd copied it. "I won't help you with the ladies anymore."

"What is she talking about, _Buchanan_?" Was Bucky really using his goddaughter to meet women?

"I help him look good with the ladies and he buys me ice cream!" _Ladies_?! Bucky had definitely too much influence on his child. "I can help you with that too, daddy! Do you want me to make you look good in front of Miss Nat-"

"Okay, I think you two scratched the floor enough for today!" He quickly interrupted Wanda and helped her out of the laundry basket and told her to get ready for bed.

"Are you really using my daughter to pick up women?" He hissed to Bucky while he helped him pick up Wanda's toys from the living room floor.

"Don't make it sound so scandalous! If a woman comes up to me when I'm with the kid, I just tell her how great we get along. That's not a lie and Wanda says something nice about me and then yes, sometimes she gets ice cream. But I would get her some anyway. I'm not some creep! And who's Miss Nat?"

"No one."

Bucky's face lit up. "Uh, is it Miss Natasha? The best dancer in the whole world according to Wanda? Did you meet her? Is she hot? Do you _like_ her?"

"What are we, 12?"

"No, we're not. But it's time for you to go out there and meet someone. And you _really_ need to get laid, dude! You're tense all the time!"

He looked at the doorway but Wanda still seemed to be in the bathroom. She was very proud of the fact that he let her brush her teeth on her own. "Shut up. Work is just stressful. And you know that I can't just date! I have to think about Wanda!"

"No one's asking you to get married! Sarah would certainly watch Wanda for a night and you know that I would too. Live a little, Stevie. If not for yourself, then for your daughter. She needs to see how a man treats a woman rightfully."

"You're using her to pick up women!"

Bucky smirked. "See! Just another reason for you to show her how it's really done!"

* * *

Steve looked around the dance floor still not believing that he actually was at one of Tony's parties. Tony invited him often to his SI parties and galas but Steve pretty much never came. Tony was his friend but his world just wasn't his. But his mother had seen the invitation on his kitchen island and pretty much forced him to go promising to look after Wanda while he was out. Knowing that his mother wouldn't take no for an answer, he'd thanked her and got into a grey suit but left the tie at home and came to this party. Tony's eyes almost fell out of their sockets when he'd seen Steve which just proved that he never went out. He just wasn't the person for it. He preferred to stay home with his kid, tuck her into bed and then watch something on Netflix but here he was now with a Bourbon in his hand leaning against the bar watching other people have fun.

A few women had approached him but he politely turned them down. He just wasn't in the mood for flirting (he never seemed to be) and it was not like he could take someone home or spend the night somewhere else. He had a kid waiting at home and he wasn't the guy for one night stands.

He scanned the crowd on the dance floor again and spotted Tony's best friend Rhodey dancing. Rhodey was an Army man just like him and it kinda amused Steve to see him dancing. Rhodey held his arm out and then pulled a redheaded woman against his chest. They were both laughing and then his eyes went wide. The woman dancing with Rhodey was Natasha! What was she doing here? And then with Rhodey? Was she his date? He gripped his glass tighter. Didn't ma say that she was single? Wait, did his mother know that Natasha would be here?!

Wow, she looked amazing in her black cocktail dress and her hair falling over her back. Her hair was even longer than Wanda's and curly. Were those her natural curls? God, why did he care about that? He wanted to look away but he couldn't. Natasha kissed Rhodey's cheek and then left the dance floor. Rhodey didn't seem to mind because he was already looking for a new dance partner. So they had been just dancing? It wasn't a date? And even if it was, it was none of his business. He barely knew the woman, she was just his daughter's dance teacher!

Natasha reappeared on the other side of the bar talking to the bartender when her gaze landed on him. She looked surprised but then she smiled at him and he couldn't help but raise his glass and grinned back. She thanked the bartender for her martini and started walking into his direction. Was she coming over to talk to him? Be cool, Steve. She's just teaching your kid to dance!

"Hi!" Natasha greeted him with a bright smile. "Fancy seeing you here!"

"Hi." He echoed dumbly because he always lost at least 30 IQ points when he talked to a beautiful woman. "Yeah, you too."

"I didn't know you worked for SI."

"Oh, I don't. Tony's a friend. I'm an illustrator."

She nodded. "Right! Wanda told me you were the best drawer in the world. I hear your dragon sketches are remarkable!" She teased with a sly smile.

"Haha." God, what else had Wanda told Natasha about him? Did his mother tell her to butter him up to Natasha? "Do you work for Tony?"

She laughed. "He wishes. I answer to Pepper. That way I get my job actually done."

"You do PR, right?" She raised an eyebrow. "My mother told me that."

"Yes, I do. I met Pepper through a mentoring program in college and then she offered me a job after I graduated. Are you really the best drawer in the world?" She reached over the bar grabbing a pen that was next to cocktail shaker. She shoved both pen and her napkin over to him. "Can you draw me something?"

"Um, sure." He took both things and before he could start to think about what to sketch his hand was already moving. He realized he'd drawn a ballerina when he was done. "Here." He said awkwardly and pushed the napkin over to her.

"Wow, that...That looks amazing. You really are talented." She gave him a pretty smile and then he watched the napkin disappear into her clutch. "I'm keeping this, Picasso."

He laughed, he really liked the way she was. So carefree and open. "Do that."

She eyed him carefully and he somehow felt like she was reading him. Like she was looking for his darkest secrets. Not that he had any. He didn't think he had any. Did he have dark secrets? She was still looking at him and he shifted uncomfortably. "You hate it here." She said eventually.

"What? No!" He said, not convincing at all.

"And you're a terrible liar." She noted amused. "Just like your daughter. Don't worry, I'm not a big fan of these parties either. But the drinks are for free and I like dancing so I show my face for an hour or two and then I leave."

"Okay, fine. You have me. This isn't my scene. Never was. I'm rather at home with my kid."

"Nothing wrong with that." She said with a warm smile. "Are you hungry, Steve? I'm hungry."

"Sure, I could eat." He answered confused.

"Do you wanna get out of here? I hear a cheeseburger calling my name. Can you hear it?" She leaned closer. "Natasha, Natasha!" She whispered into his ear. "I think they're calling for you, too. Steve. Steeeve!" The way she whispered his name was sending shivers down his spine. Was she doing that on purpose to him? Was she flirting with him?

Before he really knew what was happening he followed Natasha to the elevators and they left Stark Tower together. Once his brain was working again, he offered her his blazer since it was a bit cooler than it had been when he arrived for the party. She thanked him and he helped her into his blazer. God, it would smell like her when he would get it back. Okay, woah, Steve. Creepy much? He was just thankful that Natasha couldn't read minds.

He followed her to a diner that reminded him of the ones in old Hollywood movies. He felt like he walked straight into the 40s or 50s after he'd held the door for her open and then followed her in.

"They made the best burgers in New York, I swear." She said with a smile and then ushered him over to a booth. A waitress was coming to their table. "Two chocolate milkshakes, please." She turned to him. "Trust me, they are amazing."

He chuckled. "Two chocolate milkshakes then. What else can you recommend?"

Natasha grinned and then looked at the waitress. "Two of Stan's cheeseburgers and curly fries." The waitress wrote the order down and left. "Be prepared to have your mind blown!"

"You eat here often?"

She laughed. "If I could, I would everyday but that wouldn't be very healthy. I hope you like burgers?" She looked almost shy. "I didn't just force this on you? You're not a vegan?"

"No, no. Don't worry. Who doesn't love a good cheeseburger."

She seemed relieved. The waitress came back with their milkshakes and he took a sip. Natasha was looking at him. "Okay, this is damn good!"

"What did I tell you!" She smiled and took a sip of her own shake. Their food arrived shortly after and Natasha was right. Those cheeseburgers were amazing. He really had to come back with Wanda. Maybe Natasha could come...Nope, stop right there!

They talked about Wanda over dinner and he really felt like Natasha truly liked his daughter. He knew that Wanda was great but he was probably a bit biased with being her dad.

"I hope I'm not overstepping any boundaries but is Wanda's mother in the picture?" Natasha asked carefully and he was surprised. Didn't she know about their situation? Didn't his mother tell her? "I'm just asking because there's a mother daughter dance planned for November and I was wondering if Wanda might want do it with her mother?"

"She doesn't have one."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"It's just me and her. One look into her eyes and I knew I had to take care of her."

Natasha gave him a warm smile. "Sounds like fate. She really adores you and talks about you all the time. I was just wondering about her mom...I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. I was doing a tour in Sokovia when I saw this tiny little thing in an orphanage and that was it." He smiled thinking back to the moment he'd first seen her. He never had felt anything like that before.

"And now you're raising her on your own. That's pretty incredible."

"Best choice I've ever made."

"She's really a great kid. Don't tell anyone but she's my favorite." She winked and he somehow knew that she actually meant it.

"And this mother daughter dance?"

"Ah, yes. It's kind of like a pageant. The center is raising money for the children's hospital with it."

He sighed. Wanda would most definitely want to participate. "Is it strictly for mothers?" Maybe Bucky's sister Rebecca would do it?

"I see what I can do. If Wanda is interested, I'm sure we'll find a way."

"Thank you."

He wanted to pay for their dinner but Natasha was having none of it and insisted to pay since it had been her idea. He agreed in the end but he still felt like he should have paid. But he did insist to walk her home. It just didn't feel right to let a woman walk alone at night. New York could be dangerous.

They stopped in front of an apartment complex. "This is me. Thanks for walking me home. Sarah raised you right." She said with a smirk and he huffed a laugh out. She got out of his blazer and handed it to him. He caught a sniff of her perfume. "And thank you for keeping me warm."

"No problem. I had a good time tonight."

"You sound so surprised about that."

"Yeah. The evening turned out so much better than I could have hoped when I left home."

Was he imagining things or was Natasha blushing? "Good night, Steve." She came a little closer and was looking at him through her lashes.

Should he kiss her? He wanted to kiss her but what if she didn't want to? And they barely knew each other. He couldn't just kiss her. "Good night, Natasha."

She nodded, almost looking a bit disappointed, and then walked up the stairs. He watched her disappear behind the doors and turned around to hail a cab. Should he have kissed her?

* * *

 _Your feedback is as always highly appreciated!_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter III

Wanda was spending the day with Sam because he and his family had offered to take her with them on a day trip to Washington. Steve barely had a Saturday just for himself and didn't know what to do. He would love to see Natasha again but he didn't even have her number and he couldn't just show up at her door. That was rude and maybe she didn't even want to spend time with him.

He went for a run through Prospect Park and had two text messages when he got out of the shower. One was from Sam who had sent him a picture of Wanda posing in front of a dinosaur skeleton, and the other text was from his mother asking him if he could take a look at her kitchen sink. He texted her back that he would be there soon and changed into jeans and a Henley and threw his leather jacket on. The weather was nice and he decided to take his bike. It only took him five minutes until he was in his mother's street. He was thinking about doing a little tour with his bike after he'd looked at the sink. He parked his bike and walked up the stairs. He rang the doorbell and his mother opened the door seconds later.

"Thank you so much for coming, Steve!" She let him in after a warm hug.

"No problem, ma." He followed her into the kitchen and almost ran into his mother when he saw who was sitting at the kitchen island drinking an iced tea. "Natasha?"

She looked like she almost choked on her beverage. "Steve?"

"Oh, didn't I mention that Natasha was coming over for lunch? Must have slipped my mind." His mother answered cheery. "Now Steve, please be a dear and take a look at my sink. The garbage disposal doesn't properly work."

He was still staring at Natasha. She looked so beautiful in her floral blouse. Or was it a dress? "What?" Right, his mother asked him something. The kitchen sink. "Sure."

He found some kind of bone in the garbage disposal and he wondered if his mother'd put that there on purpose. Did she set the whole thing up? He didn't think it was a coincidence that Natasha was here when he'd shown up.

"Natasha and I were just talking about Europe. Did you know that Natasha spent one semester in Paris? She's fluent in French." His mother said with a grin and Natasha blushed but she still looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here.

"I traveled with my best friend through Europe after high school."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Why don't you stay for lunch, Steve? And you have to stay too, Natasha! As a thank you for bringing me these records." She nodded towards a couple of records on the kitchen table. "Did you know that Natasha loves Jazz?" She said to him. "Steve and I used to dance in our living room when he was a boy, remember?"

His face turned red but Natasha just smiled but it didn't look completely genuine. "That sounds lovely. And thank you for the invite but I have to get going. Thanks for the iced tea." She nodded at him. "Was nice to see you, Steve. I'll let myself out." And with that she was gone.

His mother looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Wanna explain to me what that was about? Her whole behavior changed when you showed up! I did invite her for lunch and she said yes."

"I don't know." He shrugged his shoulders. They had gotten along so well last week at Tony's party.

"Oh, Steven! Did you do something?"

"No! Maybe she was just not okay with being set up! I know you put that bone in your sink on purpose! Are you trying to set us up? You knew that she would be at Tony's party, didn't you! That's why you pretty much forced me to go!" He didn't know why he got so angry. Was is it because Natasha basically ran away when he'd appeared in the kitchen?

"Natasha is a one in a million, Steve!" Her voice got as loud as his. "Excuse me for wanting my son to be happy! For trying to find a mother for Wanda! I won't be around forever, Steve! And Natasha is perfect! And Wanda loves her!"

"Stay out of things that aren't your business, Ma! And I am happy! And Wanda doesn't need a mother, she has me!" He got back into his leather jacket. "And I'm not hungry. Have a nice day!"

* * *

He was still mad at his mother when he picked up Wanda three days later from her house. He couldn't believe that she would do something like this to him. And to Natasha who was nothing but nice and sweet to Wanda. He only exchanged a few words with his ma and then walked home with Wanda. His kid seemed a bit down and he wondered if she had noticed that something was wrong between her father and grandmother.

She sat down on the bench in the hallway and he helped her unlace her boots. He had bought them for her last week, and only after she'd worn them for the first time she'd admitted that Natasha had a similar pair.

"What's wrong, sweetie? You've been grim the whole way home."

"Darcy's daddy asked Miss Natasha on a date today." He almost dropped Wanda's shoe. What? Hunter and Bobbi had only announced their separation a month ago! "Miss Natasha said no." Oh, thank God! "She said it would be inapporate."

"Inappropriate, sweetie."

She repeated the word. "What does inappropriate mean?"

"It means that something it not suitable for certain situations. She probably thinks that it's inappropriate because she teaches Darcy dancing."

"So she wouldn't go out with you if you asked her on a date, daddy? I knew it!" Now she looked really upset.

"Do you want me to go on a date with her?"

She nodded eagerly. "Yes! She's so pretty and smart! She taught us how to count 'til ten in French. Une, deux, trois..." She held three fingers up. "I forgot the rest. She always so nice to me!" She tilted her head forward to show him the French braid he'd already noticed when he'd picked her up. "She braided my hair today! I like her sooooo much, daddy! Can you please ask her out? But so that it's not inappropriate. Then she can do the mother daughter dance with me! She can bake Christmas cookies with me! Do you think she knows how to do that? You can teach her! And you can kiss her under the mistletoe!" She hid her face behind her hands and giggled.

Shit, he had hoped Wanda wouldn't hear about this dance until he knew for sure she could do it with her Aunt Becca. And _holy shit,_ he had no idea that Wanda was pretty much already planning their future with Natasha. He had no idea what to do. He liked Natasha and he could admit that he was interested in her, he hadn't felt this drawn to someone in forever but she didn't seem to feel the same judging by their run in at his mother's house last weekend.

* * *

The new book was finally ready for print and he would be able to leave almost on time today to pick his daughter up from his Ma. Steve still didn't know what to do about Natasha. He wanted to ask her out and the fact that Wanda liked her so freaking much just made him want her _more_. He checked his phone when he stepped into the subway and almost dropped it when he read the text. It was from his mother.

 _My neighbor Dorothy broke her hip and I'm with her at the hospital. You know that her family lives on the west coast. I asked Natasha to take Wanda home. She said yes and I SWEAR that I didn't set this up. I'm sorry I can't pick up Wanda from her class and that I had to ask Natasha but James is still out of town._

He believed his mother. She might be a sly dog sometimes but there was no way that she would be lying about something like that. God, that meant that Natasha was at his apartment when he got home. God, he hoped it wouldn't be too awkward.

He heard voices coming from the kitchen when he walked through the front door and made his way to the kitchen. He stopped in the doorway to take in the sight before him. Natasha was standing with her back to him at the stove and Wanda was on her stool looking at what she was cooking. Whatever it was, it smelled delicious.

"Do you cook with your parents, Miss Natasha?"

"My parents are long gone, but yeah I did. My mother taught me a few things." Her parents were dead?

"Do you have any other family?" Wanda asked and Natasha shook her head. She was all alone? That just wasn't fair. Wanda moved closer and hugged Natasha's middle. "Then we'll be your family!"

Natasha chuckled. "That's very sweet of you. But maybe you shouldn't decide that without your father." That was his cue to make his presence known.

He cleared his throat. "Hey." They both turned around. Natasha looked embarrassed while Wanda was beaming at him and ran over to hug him. "Thank you so much for taking her home, Natasha."

"No problem. She did help me tidy up the gym so we're even." She laughed a little and then got out of his apron. "I made spaghetti Bolognese with a Russian touch. Wanda didn't know when you would be back." She added with a blush. "I hope you both like it."

"You're already leaving?" He asked perplexed.

"Noo!" Wanda whined and ran back to her, hugging her waist. "You have to stay! Pleeeeease, Natasha!" She looked up at her with big eyes and he knew from experience how hard it was to say no to her.

"Okay, okay. I'll stay if your dad is okay with it?"

"Yes. Please stay!" He said immediately and Wanda bounced up and down around Natasha, happy that she was staying for dinner.

Natasha laughed and twirled Wanda around. Something fluttered in his chest at the sight, he could really get used to this. "Okay. In that case, dinner's almost ready."

"I'll set the table." He offered and went over to the cupboard to get everything they needed. Natasha served her spaghetti and it really tasted amazing. It was a bit spicy but not too spicy for Wanda who loved the dish as well. Wanda was mostly talking, clearly trying to impress Natasha and he just watched her. She really seemed to like Wanda and god she was just so beautiful. She laughed at something Wanda'd said and threw her head back. He caught himself imagining how it would be to trail kisses along her neck. Jesus, what the fuck was wrong with him!

Wanda begged Natasha after dinner to stay and watch Mulan with her. She shot him a questioning look and he just nodded. He wanted her to stay too and was happy that Wanda was the one who'd asked her.

He did the dishes while Natasha and Wanda already started the film. They were only half an hour into the movie when he came into the living room. Wanda seemed to be asleep with her head on Natasha's lap who ran her hand absently through his daughter's hair with her eyes clued to the TV.

"She fell asleep maybe ten minutes ago." She said when she noticed him. "I should leave." Her eyes moved back to the TV.

"No, no. You don't have to." She was still looking at the screen. "Have you never seen Mulan before?"

She blushed. "Um, no."

"Then you have to stay to watch the whole film. It's one of Disney's best." He said with a smile and sat down on the armchair next to the couch.

They watched the movie in silence and Wanda never once woke up. He carried her to bed after the movie ended and helped her into her PJs. She did wake up but fell asleep again almost immediately.

Natasha was still sitting on the couch when he came back. She stood up. "I should-"

"Wine?" He blurted out. "I mean, can I offer you a glass of wine?" He didn't want her to leave.

Natasha blinked a few times but then nodded. "Okay, yes. Thank you."

"Is red okay?" She nodded and he left to get the wine bottle and two glasses. He came back into the living room and Natasha was sitting on the couch again. He handed her a glass and filled it.

He filled his own and joined her on the couch. "Thank you again for looking after Wanda."

"No problem. She's a great kid." She answered with a smile. "I don't mind spending time with her. And you let me watch Mulan, so I feel like I should thank you."

"And I'm sorry if my mother made you uncomfortable in any way." He said sincerely. "She can be a lot sometimes."

Natasha's cheeks turned pink. "She meant well, but she was clearly wrong."

"Wrong about what?"

Now her whole face was red. What was going on? "She said that you were interested in me after you picked Wanda up that day from class. And Wanda always speaks so highly of you...And then we met at that party and I thought things were going well...and then..." She stopped talking. Why? But was she interested in him after all?

"And then?"

She looked into her wine glass. "And then I thought you would kiss me good night and you didn't...And I realized that you were just nice to me. That was pretty embarrassing."

Shit! He should have kissed her! Shit! He was gonna do it now before he could say something stupid! He leaned forward, Natasha looked up surprised and leaned backwards and red wine from her glass spilled over her white sweater.

"Shit! I'm sorry!" He jumped up to get a towel.

Natasha followed him into the kitchen. " I need salt for the stain."

"Right." He opened the cupboard and handed her the box.

"Could I borrow a shirt?"

"Right, I'll be right back." He ran into his bedroom and yanked a button down out of his closet. God, this shit only happened to him! He'd tried to kiss her and then this happened!

He didn't realize that she followed him into the room. "Could I change in here?"

"Yeah, sure. I wait outside. Just hand me your sweater when you're done." She nodded and he left the room. A few seconds later she came out of the bedroom wearing his shirt. God, she looked amazing in it. And he kind of wished that she'd also spilled red wine over her jeans.

She handed him the sweater. "Thank you." He took it and their fingers touched. His breath hitched and he wondered if she felt that spark too. She bit her lower lip and looked up at him with big green eyes and he decided to try the whole kissing thing again. He dropped the sweater and cupped her face with both hands. She didn't stop him but wrapped her arms around his waist. He lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers. She kissed him immediately back and he felt like he was on fire. He never wanted to stop. The kiss grew deeper and soon Natasha was licking over the seam of his lips and he opened his mouth to let her in. They stumbled backwards and ended up on his bed. Her hands were roaming over his back and he just enjoyed the feeling of a woman underneath him again.

"I thought you didn't like me." She whispered against his lips when they pulled apart to get air into their lungs. He claimed her lips in a passionate kiss to show her that he did like her. Probably way too much than he should for barely knowing her. "I guess I was wrong." She smiled and cupped his neck and pulled him down to get him to kiss her again. He kissed her jaw and then moved his lips along her beautiful neck. He nuzzled his noise against her skin and she gave him a breathy laugh. "I hope you like how I smell." He hummed against her skin and started to suck on her pulse point which seemed to surprise her because she arched her whole body off the mattress. "Oh God. That feels so good, Steve!"

He moved one hand to her waist to hold her down and kept sucking and nibbling on her neck. She rewarded him with soft moans and buried one hand in his hair. God, what was she doing to him? He'd never gone _this_ fast with any woman before. But he couldn't stop, not when it felt this perfect and so fucking right. He wanted her, he wanted all of her. Her hands moved to the hem of his shirt pushing it up. And it seemed that she wanted the same. He reluctantly pulled away from her neck and sat up to get rid of his shirt. Natasha's hands moved to the button down he'd burrowed her and she started to unbutton it and he had to take a deep breath when he saw how dark her eyes had gotten. She smiled up at him and bit her lip. He was barely out of his shirt when her hands were on his belt.

"Are you sure, Natasha?"

"Yes." She nodded and started to undo his belt when a loud cry startled them both.

"Daddy!"

Wanda! Shit! He'd completely forgotten about her! Fuck! He jumped up and pulled his shirt back on. "She gets nightmares sometimes, sorry."

"I understand. Go!" She nodded and he left the bedroom still not believing that he'd almost slept with Natasha.

Wanda was crying when he walked into her bedroom and he immediately went over to her to pull her into his arms. "Shh, I'm here, sweetheart."

She buried her face in his neck, her tiny fists grabbing his shirt. "It was so scary, daddy! They wanted to take me away!"

Wanda knew that she had been adopted and she was sometimes scared that she couldn't stay with him. "Never! No one can ever take you away from me. I would never let that happen."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Okay." She nodded and looked up at him. "Can I stay with you?"

Was Natasha still in his bedroom? "Uh.." Wanda was already out of her bed running out of the room. Shit!

He sprinted after her and saw Natasha in the hallway looking like a deer caught in headlights. Wanda stopped and then threw herself into Natasha's arms. "You're still here!" She squealed and tried to climb up Natasha. He wanted to stop his daughter because not everyone was strong enough to carry her but Natasha lifted Wanda up and his daughter wrapped her legs around Natasha's waist. Jesus, how strong was this tiny woman?

"I'm sorry." He mouthed to her but Natasha just shook her head.

"Are you staying the night?" Wanda mumbled into Natasha's neck. "Please! Daddy's bed is big enough for all of us."

Natasha looked at him and he just shrugged. It was up to her. She kissed the top of Wanda's head. "Okay, I'll stay. You better not kick me!"

Wanda giggled and Natasha carried her into his bedroom. She put Wanda gently onto the bed and she crawled under the blankets into the middle of it. He was almost relieved that she would be between him and Natasha. Natasha got out of her jeans and climbed into bed as well. Wanda immediately snuggled against her and he got out of his pants so that he was only in his shirt and boxers, and laid down on the other side of Wanda.

"I think she's already sleeping again." Natasha whispered after a few minutes.

"You don't have to do this." He whispered back, rolling onto his side to look at her and his daughter cuddling in his bed. His heart grew three sizes at the sight.

"I know I _don't_ have to, dummy. But I want to." She said quietly with a smile on her face. "Now go to sleep."

God, was this women even real? "Yes, ma'am!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter IV

Like every Sunday Steve was with Wanda at this mother's house. Bucky had joined them today because he couldn't resist Ma's famous lasagna. Steve wanted to see Natasha again but he didn't have her number and he couldn't just show up at her door. He was pretty sure that Natasha wanted something between them to happen too. She'd admitted that she'd hoped for a kiss after Tony's party and they'd made out (almost had sex) before Wanda had interrupted them. And Natasha had stayed the night and then for breakfast the next morning with Wanda pretty much demanding all of her attention. And Wanda'd acted like it was the most normal thing that all three of them had slept in one bed. Like Natasha spent every night at their place.

Did the fact that Natasha hadn't mind to share the bed with him and Wanda mean that she was serious about him? That she could see a future with him and his daughter? God, was he already thinking about a future with Natasha? But no woman who just wanted fun would be that kind and amazing to his daughter, right?

He needed Natasha's number. He couldn't wait til next Wednesday for Wanda's class to see her again. He suspected that his mother had Natasha's number but he didn't want to ask her. He didn't want her to know yet that _something_ was going between him and her. He wanted to keep it a secret for a little while so his mother couldn't meddle again. He knew she meant well but he didn't want to overwhelm Natasha.

"Steve?" He looked up from his plate not realizing that his mother had been talking to him. "You still with us? I was asking you how the book is doing?"

"Uh, good. It's in print, Ma. It will be published soon."

His mother smiled. "That's great. I'm so proud that my son is a published illustrator."

"Thanks."

"I hope it was okay that Natasha took Wanda home? Dorothy is still in the hospital. The poor dear."

Bucky shoved another piece of lasagna on his plate and looked at him with raised eyebrows. He hadn't told him that Natasha had been at his home. He hadn't really told him much about her. "Natasha was at your place?" He asked before taking a sip from his water.

"Daddy slept with her!" Wanda exclaimed happily. His mother dropped her fork and Bucky choked on his water. Wanda patted his back with her tiny hand. "Buckybear, are you okay?"

"You what?" Ma shrieked.

"I didn't sleep with her!" Like he would ever tell his daughter about that! And Wanda had no clue about the bees and the birds. Thank God!

"Of course you did! We all slept in your bed, daddy! Why are you lying?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "I had a nightmare and daddy comforted me and Miss Natasha was there and then we all slept in your bed, daddy! Don't you remember?" His mother looked visibly relieved and Buck was hiding his laughter with a cough. "Then after breakfast Miss Natasha braided my hair before she left! When is our next sleepover, daddy?"

Three pairs of eyes were looking at him and he really wished he was anywhere but here. "I don't know. We'll see. Does anyone need more iced tea? I get some." He stood up and walked into the kitchen. Oh God, how embarrassing! Great, now Ma and Bucky knew! Well, they didn't know about the making out that had occurred before Wanda had woken up.

"Punk?" He turned around to see Bucky standing in the doorway. "Your mom and Wanda went over to her neighbor's house to feed her cat. So you're into threesomes now, huh?"

"God, shut up! Wanda just had a nightmare, saw Natasha and didn't want her to leave and asked her to stay."

"Aha, and why was she still there when Wanda had already been asleep?"

"She'd never seen Mulan before." That wasn't a lie!

"What? That doesn't make any sense!"

"Yes, it does."

"So you two were watching _Mulan_ and then Wanda woke up?"

Steve looked at his shoes. "Yep. That's what happened."

"You know that you're a terrible liar, right?" Bucky commented with a smirk on his face. "So what really happened?"

"She spilled some wine on her shirt."

"Oh, you guys drank wine! And then?"

 _And then we almost had sex_. "We tried to get it out. Jesus Bucky, what is this? An interrogation?"

Bucky held his hands up. "I don't mean to pry! I'm just happy that a woman slept in your bed. Even if your kid was present as well. And she just agreed to staying the night with you two?"

Steve smiled. "Yeah, she really likes Wanda. You should see them together. I mean Wanda was so distraught from her nightmare but then she saw Natasha and all was forgotten. It's amazing. The way she treats Wanda and when she smiles..."

"Is someone falling in love?" Bucky asked and looked pretty happy.

"I...It's too soon. But she's really special." He thought back to the way she'd smelled and felt underneath him. The soft noises she'd made when he'd kissed her. God, he wanted to kiss her again. He wanted to kiss her for hours. He didn't think he'd had it _that_ bad for anyone ever before.

"That's good." Bucky only replied and they heard his mother and Wanda coming back. "I hope she knows what a great guy you are."

* * *

Bucky came with them after they'd spent the afternoon with his mother to help him fix Wanda's bike. With Bucky's help the bike was fixed in no time and they all decided to get some cake pops as a treat. Wanda was really excited since Steve didn't give her lots of sweets and he had to make sure that she wouldn't eat too much or she would get a sugar rush. And a seven year old high on sugar was no joke!

Wanda was sitting on Bucky's shoulders on their way to the bakery when she started hitting his head. "Hey!" He groaned. "That hurts!"

She ignored him. "Look!" She pointed at the window at the bakery and there was Natasha! With a toddler on her lap. What? She didn't secretly have a child, right? Not that it would bother him. Natasha looked through the window in that moment and waved when she saw them. Wanda waved so eagerly back that Bucky had problems to keep her on his shoulders. He let her down and she was already running into the bakery. He and Bucky followed her.

"Natasha!" Wanda yelled and almost ran her over but managed to stop in time. "Hi!"

Natasha laughed. "Hey, Wanda!" She held the toddler's hand up and waved it. "This is Nate." She nodded over to a woman who was sitting with them at the table. "And this is his mom Laura."

"Hi!"

Steve was finally at the table. "Um, hi. Sorry that she barged in on you like that."

Natasha's friend laughed. "Don't worry. I have a girl with the same energy. I'm Laura Barton. Natasha's best friend. And you are?"

He offered her his hand. "Steve Rogers. This little powerhouse is Wanda and that's my friend Bucky Barnes."

Laura's whole face lit up. "So _you_ 're Steve! It is _so_ nice to meet you!" Did Natasha tell her best friend about him? That was good right?

"I'm just your friend?!" Bucky complained. "I'm your _best_ friend, punk!" He turned to Natasha and put on his million watt smile. "And you must be Natasha! I heard so much about you!"

"Really?" Natasha's cheeks turned slightly pink.

"Yeah, Wanda talks about you all the time."

"Oh." She sounded disappointed.

"Don't worry, Steve never talks about important stuff like that. He's pretty private." He told Natasha and she looked at Steve. He couldn't help but blush a little when she smiled happily at him. Bucky took Wanda's hand. "Come on, kiddo. Let's buy some cake pops."

"But I-" Wanda started but Bucky was already walking off with her.

Natasha handed her friend the toddler back. "Can we go outside for a minute?"

"Yeah, of course."

She smiled and he followed her out of the bakery. They stopped in front of the window but then she grabbed the collar of his jacket and pulled him with her away from the window. They stopped in front of the bookstore next to the bakery. "Here's better. No audience." She laughed. "Gimme your phone!"

"Huh?"

She held her hand out. "Gimme your phone. You don't have my number!"

"Right!" He got his phone out of his jacket and handed it to her. She saved her number in his contacts and gave the phone back to him. "Thanks!"

"And you better call me, Steve!"

"I will, I promise! I should have asked for your number but I forgot. And I didn't want to ask my mother."

Natasha looked highly amused by that. "Are you gonna call me to ask me out?"

"That was the plan."

"Good!" She grabbed the collar of his leather jacket again. "You think Wanda is still looking for cake pops?"

"Definitely. Bucky is probably bankrupt by the time she's done."

"So..." Her hands moved up to his neck.

"So..." He echoed and feeling a little bold he wrapped his hands around her waist.

"So you better kiss me now." She grinned and closed her eyes. He laughed softly and leaned forward to press his lips against hers. Natasha smiled into the kiss and he pulled her closer against him. They kissed and kissed until they were both out of breath. God, it was even better than last time.

"Call me tonight." She whispered and he kissed her forehead.

"I will." This made her smile and she pecked his lips before leaving his embrace. They walked back into the bakery where Wanda and Bucky were talking to Laura. Wanda didn't seem to notice that anything had happened between him and Natasha but of course Bucky did.

"Nice lipstick you're wearing!" He commented when they left the bakery. "New color?" Steve immediately wiped over his mouth with his sleeve. "Nah, I was just kidding. But good to know that my suspicion was right."

* * *

He couldn't wait until Wanda was finally in her bed so that he could call Natasha. He wanted to wait until his kid was sleeping so she wouldn't snatch the phone out of his hand to talk to Natasha. He was incredibly happy that his daughter _adored_ the woman he was interested in but he still wanted some parts of Natasha just to himself and he knew that Wanda would want to talk to Natasha if she knew that she was on the phone.

He brought Wanda to bed and tucked her in before he read to her another chapter of the book they were currently reading. Wanda was listening to him while cuddling her stuffed _Buckybear_ and reminding him to read in different voices. _You have to do the voices, daddy!_

He closed the book and kissed Wanda's forehead. "Good night, sweetie."

"Daddy?" She asked sleepily. "You like Miss Natasha right? Like you like her like you wanna kiss her?"

He laughed a little. "I think I do. You wanna know a secret? But you can't tell anyone. Especially not your granny!" She nodded eagerly. "I kissed Natasha today when you bought cake pops with Uncle Bucky."

Her eyes went big and she gasped. "You did? Was it like in the movies? Did she do the leg flip thingy?"

"I don't know if she did, kiddo. But it was a really nice kiss. I think I'll kiss her again the next time I see her."

Wanda beamed. "Yay! I really like her, daddy. Are you gonna marry her? Is she gonna be my mo-"

"Not so fast!" He laughed nervously. He was terrified but also a little bit moved that Wanda wanted Natasha so much in her life."I'm gonna have to ask her to go on a date with me first."

"You should take her to Build-A-Bear to make her a bear! That's very romancic!"

"Romantic." He chuckled. "We'll see. I keep that in mind. Now it's time for you to sleep. Good night, sweetie."

"Good night, daddy! I love you."

He kissed her forehead again. "I love you more."

He cleaned the kitchen and living room before he sat down on the sofa. Wanda should be asleep by now. He scrolled through his contacts until he found _Nat._ Did that mean she wanted him to call her that? He pressed the green phone button and waited. He didn't have to wait long until he heard her voice.

"Hi, stranger!" She whispered into the phone.

"Um, this is Steve Rogers."

"I know!" She was laughing. She had such a pretty laugh. "I was just waiting for your call all evening."

"Oh! Ha, sorry. I wanted to wait until Wanda was in bed. Otherwise I would have no chance to talk to you."

She chuckled. "In that case you're forgiving. Didn't you want to ask me something?"

"Hm? Right! Will you go out on a date with me, Natasha? Just you and me?"

"I don't mind spending time with Wanda!"

"I know." He said quickly. "I just really liked to have you all to myself for one evening."

"Oh, Steve. You really know what do say to a girl, don't you?"

"Actually, I _really_ don't. So can I take you on a date?"

"Yes! When?"

"Wednesday? I could ask my mom if Wanda could stay the night at her place after she picked her up from your class." Which meant that he had to tell his mom about the date but he didn't think anyone else could watch her on such short notice and he didn't want a stranger to look after his little girl.

"Okay, Wednesday it is. Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"You work in Manhattan right?"

"Yeah, why?" Where was she going with this?

"So do you maybe wanna meet for lunch tomorrow during your break? If you're free and want to, of course!" He didn't understand why she sounded so hesitant, she always seemed so confident. "Am I too eager? I am pushing too hard, aren't I?"

"What, no! I'd love to meet you for lunch. Tell me when and where!"

He heard her sigh in relief. "Oh, okay. Sorry, if I come on too strong. It's just you're such a nice guy and those are rarely interested in me and I just don't want to fuck this up."

"I don't want to fuck this up either."

"Okay. That's a relief!" She laughed. "So tomorrow one pm at Stan's? You liked his burgers, right?"

"I did."

They talked for hours until he had to charge his phone. He couldn't believe how easy it was to talk to her. How much he liked hearing her voice and laughter. Had Bucky been right? Was he falling in love? _Already_?


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter V

Lunch with Natasha had been amazing. He couldn't remember laughing that much when Wanda wasn't around. It was crazy but he felt like he'd known Natasha forever. She was funny, smart and so freaking delightful to be around. He'd had already been at Stan's when she'd shown up and she'd cupped his cheek and given him a peck on the lips as a greeting. He'd smiled dumbly and held the door open for her. They'd talked about their jobs, shows and music they liked and Natasha told him a bit about her upbringing. She'd moved to the States after her parents' death and she'd gotten a full ride to Columbia. He was just so charmed by her and felt like he'd won something every time he'd made her laugh. He'd insisted to pay this time and after some arguing she'd let him. He had been more than surprised when she'd handed him three tickets when they'd stood outside the diner.

"What's this?" He'd asked. "I already know what we're gonna do Wednesday night."

She'd smiled. "You do?"

"Yeah, but it's a surprise."

She'd held her hands up. "Okay." She laughed making his insides all warm and fuzzy. "I'm looking forward to it. Anyway, these are tickets for the Bronx Zoo. SI gets all kinds of gifts and I thought you might want these. You'd have to go tomorrow though because there's a special tour included. Go behind the scenes stuff. I'm sure Wanda will get to see some animals really up close."

Well, he could take the afternoon off and go with Wanda. She would love to go, he knew that. "And the third ticket?" He'd asked.

"Take Sarah with you. Or a friend of Wanda's." She'd smiled. "You can take whoever you want."

There had been only one person he'd wanted to come with them. "Are you free tomorrow afternoon?"

Her face had lit up. "Really? But isn't that too soon...I don't know... What will Wanda think?"

He'd taken her hand between his. "Wanda will be over the moon. She'll probably completely ignore me and only talk to you."

"Okay, I'll gladly go with you two." She'd gave him that beautiful smile again. "I meet you at the zoo then. Three pm?"

He'd nodded. "Yes. I can't wait."

"Me neither." She'd laughed a little and he leaned down to kiss her before he had to go to work again.

And here he was now sitting at the dinner table with him watching Wanda try to eat with chopsticks. Her brows were furrowed and she stubbornly tried to pick up a piece of broccoli. He'd offered her to use a fork to eat her fried noodles but she'd wanted to eat it like him with chopsticks.

"Sweetie?" She looked up from her plate. "I have a surprise for you."

She dropped the chopsticks. "Yes?"

"We're going to the zoo tomorrow afternoon! And you'll get a look behind the scenes!"

Her eyes widened and she squealed. "Really? Can I pet a tiger?"

"Uh, I don't think so. But maybe a less dangerous animal. Like a goat." They were harmless, right?

"Oh." Wanda looked a bit disappointed.

He knew how to lift her spirits. "You know who's gonna come with us?"

"Granny?" He shook his head. "Buckybear? Uncle Sammy?" He shook his head again. "Then who?"

"Natasha."

He was surprised her jaw didn't hit the kitchen table. "Really? She's coming with us? Is it a date? Are we going on a date with her?" She looked at his button down that was wrinkled after the long day he'd had. "You're not wearing that, are you, daddy?"

First Wanda wanted to pet a tiger and now she was a fashion critic? He laughed. "No, I'm not gonna wear that. Are you happy that she's coming with us?"

She threw her hands in the air and squealed again. The poor neighbors. "Yes! You're gonna have to buy her roses! And candy! And a teddy bear!"

* * *

He made sure that Wanda looked extra cute in her outfit and he'd tried a few shirts on until he and Wanda decided to go with a dark Henley. He helped Wanda into her little utility jacket and threw his brown leather jacket on before they left the house. Wanda had been a bit mad at him that he hadn't bought Natasha roses or candy but she'd understood that Natasha couldn't carry that around with her all day.

"Look, daddy! She's already here!" Wanda tugged on his hand and led him to the entrance of the Bronx zoo. Natasha was waving and walking towards them. She had her hair in a ponytail and wore a knitted sweater and jeans. She looked amazing.

"Hi!" She managed to get out before Wanda threw herself at her causing Natasha to stumble back a few steps. "Hi there, you little _smerch."_ She laughed and hugged her back.

"What does _smerch_ mean?"

"Whirlwind. You're a little whirlwind, Wanda." Natasha explained and Wanda giggled. She looked up from his kid to him. "Hi, Steve."

"Hey." He was probably grinning like an idiot but he didn't care. She just made him so happy and he _loved_ the fact that both Wanda and Natasha liked each other so much. How lucky was he that the woman he liked (maybe was already falling in love with) and his daughter got along so well. He knew he couldn't be with someone Wanda couldn't stand.

She smiled brightly at him. "Hi."

"Daddy!" Wanda was tugging on the hem of his jacket and he looked down at her. "You said you would kiss her the next time you see her! Kiss her!"

He knew he was blushing furiously but Natasha just looked amused and raised a perfect eyebrow. "What are you waiting for then?"

He cleared his throat. "Right. I'm gonna kiss you. Now." Natasha's mouth curved into a half smirk and he leaned forward to kiss it of her face. He heard Wanda giggling in the background and moved his lips softly against Natasha's. Her cheeks were pink when he pulled away. "Hi, Nat."

"Hey, handsome." She whispered back, her eyes sparkling. Wanda took her hand in that moment and then his and walked with them to the entrance. They had to wait an hour until a zookeeper had time to take them behind the scenes so they just walked through the zoo on their own for now. Wanda was walking in the middle between them holding their hands. He wondered if people who saw them thought that they were a family. Did they look like mom and dad taking their kid on a trip to the zoo?

Wanda asked all kinds of questions about the animals and he and Natasha tried their best to answer them. The tour behind the scenes was incredible and he was so thankful that Natasha'd thought of them and had given him the tickets. Wanda got to feed penguins and lemurs, pet a baby elephant and got to hold a sloth. She was over the moon and he knew that she would talk about this day for weeks. All thanks to Natasha.

They were sitting on a bench watching Wanda play with a few other kids on the playground. It would be soon time for them to go home. "Thank you so much for this, Natasha."

"You don't have to thank me. It was my pleasure." She looked at him and smiled. "I'm just happy that Wanda had fun today."

"She did." He took her hand and intertwined their fingers. "I did, too."

"Me, too." She nodded. "I've never dated someone who had a kid before and I don't want to make any mistakes. I hope I'm not forcing myself between you or I-"

"You're not." He said quickly and squeezed her hand. "Wanda adores you and practically begged me to ask you out. I haven't been really dating since I became a father and I don't really know how this works either. I just know that I like you and my daughter likes you and I just...God, I was never good at this. You make us happy, Nat."

Her free hand cupped his cheek and she ran her thumb over his cheekbone. "You two make me happy, too. And I like you, Steve." She laughed a little. "A lot, actually. That's why I want this to work. And I adore Wanda. But I don't want to come between you."

"You're not. Don't worry."

She smiled. "So can I kiss you or can we only kiss when Wanda tells us to?" He snorted and closed the space between them to kissher softly.

"God, you're amazing. You know that?"

She chuckled and kissed him again. Together they watched Wanda again and he wrapped his arm around Natasha's shoulders. "I can't wait for our date tomorrow."

"Me neither." She looked up at him. "Where are we going again?"

"Nice try, sweetheart." He froze when he realized what he'd called her but she didn't seem to mind. She just brushed her lips against his jar and he continued talking. "Dress nicely."

"Dress nicely?" She repeated. "That can mean anything, Rogers!"

She tried to get him to tell her where they would be going but he kept his mouth shut. She almost looked like she was pouting and asked Wanda if she knew but he purposely hadn't told Wanda because he knew that she would have told Natasha in a heartbeat.

Natasha walked them to the subway station and following Wanda's order he kissed her good bye. She smiled beautifully at him and then knelt down to hug his daughter and to kiss her cheek. Wanda giggled happily and kissed Natasha's cheek back. She told them to kiss again and they did, grinning while their lips moved against each other.

"I see you tomorrow." He whispered against her lips before pulling away. "You could wear that dress you had on at Tony's party."

"So, we're doing something fancy?"

"You'll have to wait until tomorrow, Nat."

She rolled her eyes but grinned. "Fine." She gave Wanda one last hug and when he walked down the stairs of the subway station with his daughter's little hand in his own and when he turned around, he saw Natasha watching them with a fond smile on her face.

He brought a sleepy Wanda to bed, the day had been pretty exciting for her, and then got a beer out of the fridge and sat down on the couch. He pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket and checked again the time they had to be at the Lincoln Center tomorrow. He hoped that she would like his surprise. He scrolled through the photos he'd taken today and changed his home screen to a picture of Natasha lifting Wanda up so she could feed a giraffe. Maybe this was happening too fast. Maybe he'd included Wanda too soon but it just had felt right. The only thing that had felt _this_ right before had been adopting Wanda and that had been the best decision of his life. Maybe Natasha would be too.

* * *

 _Merry Christmas!_


	6. Chapter 6

_I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas (if you celebrate) and my little present to you is Steve and Natasha's first official date:)_

* * *

Chapter VI

Steve walked Wanda to her school before he would take the subway to get work in Manhattan. She listed a lot of things she thought that he should to do to impress Natasha.

"I've been on a date before, sweetie." He chuckled when Wanda had reminded him for the tenth time to pick up Natasha from her apartment. And to bring flowers!

"No, you haven't, daddy."

"Yes, I have. But that was before you."

She looked to the ground. "So, it's my fault that you're alone?"

 _Oh Wanda!_ He knelt down to make sure that Wanda was looking at him. "No, sweetheart. Of course not. I haven't just met any woman I thought was special enough for us." _Until Natasha._ "And truth to be told, I've never been good with women. I'm not your Uncle Bucky."

Her eyes lit up. "So you do need my help, daddy!"

"Always, munchkin! I didn't know it but I was so lost until you." He kissed her forehead and she smiled. "And I wasn't alone. I was happy with our life and now I am happy that we found Natasha, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

She tried to get him to tell her where he would be taking Natasha tonight, probably so she could impress her by spilling the beans, but he didn't tell her a thing. It was already enough that his mother would most likely know by afternoon that he and Natasha were going on a date tonight. Wanda would also most likely tell her about the zoo. He had told his mother that he had to work late today and asked if Wanda couldn't stay with her for the night.

He watched Wanda walk through the gate and waited until she walked into the entrance hall of her school. He waved when she turned around and then walked to the subway station when she was out of his sight.

Did Wanda really think all this time that he was single because of her? It was partly because of her but it wasn't her fault _._ He'd had a lot on his plate but he did meet a few women through Bucky or work but they weren't the ideal fit. He'd never gone out with any of them. None of these women seemed good enough to come into their life. Somehow it was different with Natasha. Maybe because she'd met Wanda before they met or maybe because she got along with his daughter so well but he couldn't stop thinking about her. And he couldn't wait for their date.

* * *

He left work earlier today so he had enough time to get back to Brooklyn to get ready and then return to Manhattan to pick up Natasha. He checked his phone before he left his apartment after a shower and changing into a dark blue suit. His mother had sent him a text wishing him a great time with Natasha. Of course she knew by now. Did Wanda tell her or maybe even Natasha when his mother had picked Wanda up from her class?

He checked the pocket of his blazer to see if the tickets were still there and then walked to the florist down the street to buy Natasha flowers. He went with a beautiful bouquet of peonies and wildflowers and then got into an Uber to get to Manhattan.

He was nervous hoping that he wouldn't mess things up because he wanted it to work between them so fucking much. And not just for Wanda's sake. He came to realize in the last days that he wanted her in his life just as badly as Wanda did. He walked into the lobby and the concierge told him where Natasha's apartment was.

He took a deep breath before he knocked on her door. Why was he so nervous? She'd already slept in his bed for God's sake!

The door opened and his breath got caught in his throat at the sight of her. Her hair was up, a few curly strains framing her perfect face. She was wearing a black dress that showed off her creamy shoulders. She looked so beautiful. She always did, but just- "Wow." He breathed out and Natasha beamed.

"Are those for me?" She pointed at the flowers.

"Um, yes. Here." He said awkwardly and handed them to her.

"Thank you! Would you like to come in for a moment?" She stepped aside to let him in. He walked over her threshold and she tugged on his hand to turn him to her. "Hi." She whispered and pecked his lips.

"Hi. You look amazing!" He managed to get out and a smile lit up her face.

"You do, too. You fill out a suit quite nicely!" She walked further into the apartment. "I'll just put these in a vase and then I'm almost ready to go."

"Okay." He nodded and looked around her apartment. It was quite big for one person and she had really great taste, not that it surprised him. He had a feeling that she was good at everything. His gaze landed on a corkboard in her hallway. It was covered in postcards and photos and there in one corner was the napkin with his ballerina sketch. She'd kept it! His heart was beating wildly. Even when she'd thought that he wasn't interested, she'd still pinned to her board. He smiled to himself and walked back to the door so she wouldn't realize that he'd seen it. He didn't want to embarrass her.

She appeared at the end of the hallway, leaning with her hand against a doorway and getting into her heels. "So what are we doing tonight?"

He grinned. "You have to wait until we're there. And afterwards we're having dinner at my second favorite Italian restaurant."

She walked towards him, her high heels clicking on the hardwood floor. "Second favorite?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, the best Italian restaurant is in Brooklyn. Naturally."

"Naturally." She snorted and he helped her into her coat not being able to stop himself from letting his fingers linger on her neck for a moment. Her skin was so smooth and soft. "Then let's go, Brooklyn boy. And I should warn you. Wanda made me promise to tell her if I didn't like the date. She said that she would have a word with you." She raised her finger playfully and he groaned.

"Was my mother present during that conversation?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Did she say anything?"

"Not really, but she seemed quite happy about our date." She looked a bit unsure. "You're okay with her knowing, right?"

"Yeah, of course. Don't worry. It's just that I don't want her to meddle again. She set us up that Saturday noon at her place."

"I figured. Both Wanda and Sarah have been trying to sell you to me even before we met." She said with a smirk and he felt his cheeks getting hot. Oh God! "Hey, don't be embarrassed. I thought they were exaggerating because no guy could be that great but I'm starting to think that they were right."

Now he was definitely blushing. "Um, thanks." He offered her his arm. "Ready for our first official date?"

She nodded and looped her arm through his and slid her hand down his arm until their palms touched. She laced their fingers together and smiled up at him. "Let's go."

* * *

The cab stopped near Lincoln Center and Natasha turned her head to look at him. "What are we doing here?" She asked with a little smile on her face.

"Well, I thought we could watch the Bolshoi tonight."

"What?" Her whole face lit up. "How did you get tickets? I tried it months ago and they were already sold out!"

He laughed and took her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. "Are you surprised?"

"Yes! Oh God, Steve!" She grabbed his face and kissed him until he was dizzy. "Thank you so, so much!" The cab drive cleared his throat and Steve quickly paid him and they got out of the car. Natasha grabbed the collar of his blazer and kissed him again. "This is the perfect surprise. I love the Bolshoi! How did you know?"

He cupped her cheek and she leaned into his touch. Emotions were overflowing him and he tried to push them down for now. "Wanda told me that you love ballet and you're from Russia so I thought I take a chance with this."

She moved her head and pressed a kiss to his inner wrist. "Do you have any idea how amazing you are, Steve?"

He didn't know what to answer. He wanted to tell her that she was the amazing one, that he was pretty sure that he was falling in love with her but he didn't want to overwhelm her. Scare her away. He took her hand and walked with her to the steps of Lincoln Center. "Let's get inside." She nodded and gave him such a warm and beautiful smile that his knees got weak and he was surprised that he didn't drop to the floor.

Steve knew pretty much nothing about ballet. He was just glad that he vaguely knew what Swan Lake was about but he soon stopped watching the stage anyway. He was more charmed with the way Natasha was watching the show. She was leaning forward in her seat, her elbows on her thighs and her hands supporting her head. Her eyes almost never left the stage but she did look sometimes at him and then with a slight frown on her face. He didn't get why. He thought that she had liked the surprise! Did he do something wrong? He had thought it would be the perfect date idea when he'd asked Pepper if she could get him the tickets after he'd realized that he could never get them without the right connections.

He helped Natasha back into her coat after the show ended and asked her if she was okay with walking to the restaurant. It was such a beautiful and warm night for October and he thought a little walk would be romantic. She turned him to look at him when they were outside of the Lincoln Center. "Steve. Look, I really appreciate the gesture, trust me I really do, but please don't do that again."

"What?" He asked crestfallen. So she really didn't like the surprise after all.

"Don't just come with me to something that you don't enjoy just because I like it. You weren't even looking at the stage, Steve. I don't want you to sit through something that you hate!"

"What! No! No, Natasha. That's not it! Look, I admit that I have no clue about ballet and it wouldn't be my first choice of entertainment but I didn't hate it or didn't enjoy it." His cheeks were definitely warm by now. "I just enjoyed watching you more. You looked so happy and in awe. It was a beautiful thing to see."

Natasha looked briefly away and she looked like she was slightly blushing. "Oh, boy. I think I have to kiss you again." She whispered and was already cupping his face, pressing her lips on his. "Where have you been all my life, Rogers?"

"Brooklyn?" He blurted out and chided himself for not being smoother but she seemed to like it and kissed him again. "I enjoyed the show but I enjoyed your reactions so much more."

"God, stop saying things like that or we're never having dinner." She said and brushed her noise against his.

"Are you not hungry?" He asked dumbly because he was an idiot. He only realized what she had implied when she bit her lips and her eyes darkened briefly. "Right, dinner."

They walked hand in hand to the Italian restaurant and both ordered the spaghetti carbonara. He told her more about his childhood and he was more than surprised that she knew that he had been a shrimp before he had that growth spur in summer before senior year.

"Your mom showed me pictures."

"What?" He almost dropped his fork.

"She showed them to me when I brought the records over. You were always handsome, Steve! And according to your mother, you were always that kind and sweet and that's what only matters in the end."

"God, where were you when I was in high school?"

She laughed and took a sip from her wine. "Russia. You know Sarah and Wanda have been talking you up to me pretty much since day one."

"Oh God!" He groaned and wanted the earth to swallow him. "How embarrassing!"

"No, not all! Wanda thinks the world of you and I thought it was just so sweet that she looks up to you so much. And your mother always dropped not so subtle hints that you were single and a great catch. I was flattered but I wasn't really interested. I thought that if you were really that great, that sweet and perfect, then there would be no way that you would like me."

"What? What's not to like about you? You're-" He wanted to say perfect but he stopped himself. Too soon. "You're amazing, Nat."

"I only attract men who turn out to be assholes. I want something serious but I don't seem to be the right girl for that."

"Stop right there. You are the right girl and whoever you've dated in the past were idiots. But maybe I should thank them because now you are here with me." He hoped he was giving her one of his boyish grins that had gotten him out of trouble when he was kid.

Natasha laughed and shook her head. She reached with her arm over the table and took his hand. "But you heard what I said, right? I want something serious. I see my friends in their committed relationships and I want that, too. I feel like I should tell you that now. I don't just want a bit of fun. I'm not looking for a hook up or an affair."

He intertwined their fingers. "Natasha, I told my daughter that we're going on a date. I wanted you to go with us yesterday. I wouldn't have done that if I just wanted a fling. I'm not the guy for that. I'm serious about this and I want to find out where this can go."

She smiled. "Me, too." He smiled back glad to know that they were in the same boat. He didn't think he could bare it if it had turned out that she just wanted fun in the end. He was way too deep in it for that. And it seemed that Natasha was too.

They shared a tiramisu and then took a cab to get Natasha home. He walked her to her stairs of the apartment building. "I had a great time, tonight." This time he would definitely give her a good night kiss.

She put her hands on his chest. "The date doesn't have to be over yet, Steve. Wanda is staying at Sarah's tonight, right? Do you want to come up?" She gave him a heated look and ran her hands over his chest.

His heart started beating wildly at what she had offered. "Are you sure? We don't have to."

One hand cupped his cheek and she smiled. "I know that. I want to. I want _you_. No one is gonna interrupt us this time. Do _you_ want to?" She leaned in closer until he felt her breath on his face.

"Yes." He whispered. "It's just been a while and I don't want to disappoint you or-" God, this was so embarrassing. He hadn't been with a woman in forever and he wanted it to be good for her!

"Shh!" She kissed him softly. "Don't think about that. We'll figure it out together. We're in this together." She kissed him again, this time with tongue. "And I refuse to believe that someone who is a such a great kisser will be bad in bed." She grinned up at him and he was so thankful that she managed to make his embarrassment go way. "And besides, Rogers. Everybody needs practice."

He laughed and rolled his eyes at her but he was glad to find out that she didn't seem to mind that it had been some time for him. He leaned down to kiss her and felt her smile into the kiss. "Yes, I wanna come up."

She bit his lip lightly, took his hand and he followed her up to her apartment where he spent the night with her.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter VII

The next morning he found out that Natasha was quite grumpy when she had to wake up before 6 am but he had to get back to Brooklyn to change clothes before he could go to work. She pulled the sheet over her head but she did make quite the happy sounds when he kissed his way down her body and stayed between her legs. As it turned out Natasha didn't mind to practice with him at all.

She let him use her shower while she made them a quick breakfast and gave him a mind blowing kiss before he had to leave.

"I'll call you." He told her between kisses.

"You better, Rogers. You can't just rock a girl's world like that and then bail on her. I want many, _many_ repeats of last night. And this morning." She smirked and pulled his head down to kiss him again.

He blushed a little but he also felt immensely proud that she'd enjoyed last night and earlier. "Can we see each other this weekend? I'm sure Wanda would love to see you."

"That's sounds amazing. We could go rowing if the weather's nice." She pressed him against her door and kissed him again. "Or horseback riding."

"Hm, yeah." He mumbled against her lips grabbing her hips to press her against him. God, she was driving him crazy. He'd never met a more sensual and sexy woman than her. He couldn't remember a time where he had been _this_ attracted to someone. He wanted her so much, it was insane. She opened her mouth for him and he gladly explored it with his tongue. Why were they not in her bedroom again? Right, work...

Her nails were digging into the back of his neck and he just wanted to open her little bathrobe to have his way with her but she pulled away from his lips and took a step back. They were both panting and her pupils were dilated and her face was flushed. "Okay, you have to go before I drag you back into my bedroom. Or to my couch."

God, that sounded like a great idea but she was right. They both had jobs to go to. "I'll call you and we'll talk about the weekend again, okay?"

She nodded and smiled. "It's a date. I see you, Steve."

"Bye, Tasha." He whispered and her cheeks turned pink. He'd found out last night that she liked it _a lot_ when he called her that while they were doing the most amazing things in bed together. He pecked her lips that were red from all his kisses one last time and walked to the elevators. She was still standing in her doorway smiling at him until the elevator doors closed.

He took the subway back to Brooklyn, stopped by the drugstore to buy toothpaste, Wanda's princess shampoo and he almost couldn't believe it himself -condoms. He hadn't had any at his place but he had a feeling that he would need them now that he had a...Well, was Natasha his girlfriend now? Probably yes, right? He sure hoped she was.

* * *

He called Natasha during his break and talked to her for a few minutes until she had to go to a meeting. She later sent him a text that she was thinking about him and that he should give Wanda a kiss from her. He smiled when he read it, still not believing that she was actually dating him.

He picked Wanda up from school and she had all kinds of questions about his date. He answered all of her questions and she seemed quite happy with the answers. And when he asked her if she wanted to do something on Saturday with Natasha, she was jumping up and down screaming yes. Immediately demanding that Natasha had to have a sleepover at their place and his thoughts went briefly to the condoms hiding in his nightstand in the deepest corner of its drawer. He shook his head and focused on helping Wanda with her homework. He shouldn't be thinking about that while his kid was present.

The doorbell rang after dinner and Wanda immediately jumped off the couch and ran to the door. Every second Thursday Bucky and Sam came over for a poker game which Wanda knew but she'd never had been that ecstatic about, mostly because she had to go to bed and wasn't allowed to play with them. He didn't think a seven year old should know how to play poker.

"Natasha?" She squealed and opened the door. Ah, that's who she thought was at the door. "Oh, it's just you." Wanda said with evident disappointment in her voice. He snorted and got up from the couch as well.

"It's just us?" He heard Bucky complaining. "That's not how a man wants to be greeted by his favorite girl!"

"I personally can understand the disappointment with opening the door and then seeing your ugly face." Sam said and Wanda giggled. Steve turned around the corner and watched Bucky kneel down and tickle Wanda until she was laughing and punching him with her little fists. Sam came to Wanda's rescue and picked her up, and ran with her in his arms past by him into the living room. "I protect you, my queen!"

They played a few rounds Uno with Wanda until it was time for her to go to bed. Today she wanted Uncle Sammy to read her a bedtime story because Buckybear was a mean ticklemonster. Her words not his.

He and Bucky used that time to get everything for their poker game ready. They usually forgot about the game pretty soon and just talked.

Sam came back and sat down at the kitchen table. "I know you only read her one chapter per evening but I'm now really invested in that story, man!"

He laughed and handed him a beer. "I'm sure Wanda will let you borrow the book once we're done." He saw Bucky out of his eye looking at him intensely. "What?"

"Something's different. You're so relaxed. And in such a good mood." Bucky leaned closer and then smiled smugly. "You got laid!"

"What? No! What are you even talking about!" He took a sip from his beer. He _so_ did not want to talk about that! He didn't think it was anyone's business besides his and Natasha's.

"Yes, you had sex! Your face is all red! Good for you, man! Was it with Natasha?"

Sam's eyes lit up. "You're seeing this Natasha chick?"

"How do you know about that?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. He didn't tell him and Bucky only knew because of Wanda.

Sam laughed. "Wanda talked about her nonstop when we were in DC. Gushing about her and wondering when you would ask her out and asked me if she should just ask her out for you, and if I could borrow her ten bucks for flowers for Miss Natasha."

"Oh God!" He groaned and buried his face in his hands. Thank God, that Wanda hadn't asked Natasha for him. That would have been so embarrassing! A seven year old kid asking a woman out for her grown father.

"Don't worry. I told her that you had to ask this Natasha and not her." Sam grinned. "So did you ask her out?"

"Yes, and that's all I'm saying about that. Now let's play poker!" He didn't miss how Sam and Buck exchanged grinning looks.

* * *

Wanda had been buzzing with excitement pretty much since she'd woken up this morning. It was Saturday and Natasha would be here soon. The weather was nice and they could spend the day outside.

He tried to braid Wanda's hair into a crown around her head but he had no luck in succeeding. He'd watched several videos on YouTube but it was still some kind of witchcraft to him. And it didn't help that Wanda was fidgeting on her chair clearly unhappy with him. "Try it again, daddy! I wanna look pretty for Natasha!"

"Sweetie, you're always pretty!" He walked around her to look at her. "And I'm sure that Natasha thinks so, too. And you know that looks are not important, right?" He tipped on her forehead and then on her chest where her heart was. "It's way more important what's in there."

"I know, daddy!" She nodded seriously. "It's just that Darcy's hair always looks so cute and Natasha complimented her and what if she decides to go out with her daddy after all?"

"I don't think that will happen, kiddo. I think Natasha likes us a lot."

"Really?"

He nodded. "I think so." The doorbell rang in that moment and Wanda bounced off her chair and ran out of her room. Seconds later he heard Natasha's voice. He smiled to himself and walked to the front door to greet her.

"Look, what Natasha gave me!" Wanda held a book about dinosaurs up. Ever since her trip to DC with Sam's family she was obsessed with dinosaurs. And thanks to Bucky she now wanted to watch Jurassic Park which was no movie for a seven year old! He got all warm and fuzzy realizing that Natasha had paid Wanda enough attention to notice that she was into dinosaurs.

"I just saw it and thought of Wanda." She said almost shyly. "I hope that was okay?"

"Of course, Nat." He smiled at her softly. "I hope she said thank you!"

Natasha laughed. "She did. Don't worry." She held up a paper bag. "And I brought breakfast." She handed the bag to Wanda. "There might be a cinnamon bun in there for you, _smerch."_

Wanda grabbed the bag and he expected her to run with it into the kitchen but she stayed right there between them. She gave him a stern look and then looked at Natasha. "Did you like the date? Was it nice? Did he give you flowers?"

She knelt down and brushed her thumb over Wanda's cheek. "It was very nice. Your dad treated me very well. He must have listened to you." She looked up at him and winked. "Don't worry."

"Okay, good." She nodded and then her whole expression turned hopeful. "Are you daddy's girlfriend now?"

Oh, shit! He wanted to say something so that Natasha didn't feel pressured or anything like that. That was probably a conversation they should have without his daughter being present. Natasha didn't look bothered though. She looked at him with a grin on her face. "Well, I really hope he'll become my boyfriend."

His heart was beating so fast, he was sure that Natasha and Wanda could hear it. They both looked at him expectantly. Natasha's expression was a mix between amusement and worry and Wanda just stared at him.

"Daddy?"

"Um, please bring the bag into the kitchen, kiddo."

Wanda made a face. "Fine, but you better be her boyfriend when we eat breakfast. And you have to kiss her! Boyfriends always kiss their girlfriends in the movies!" She said before leaving the hallway.

He turned to look at Natasha who was standing up by now again, her hands on her hips. "Steve, you like me, right?"

"Of course. A lot actually."

She smiled. "And I like you. And I already told you that I'm not interested in just some fling. I won't be going out with anyone else or-" She lowered her voice. "Or sleeping with anyone else. And maybe Wanda jumped the gun on us but I really want you to be my boyfriend. I want a real relationship."

He was probably grinning like a complete idiot. "Yeah? So you're my girl now?" His hand moved to her waist and he pulled her against him.

She laughed and her hands landed on his chest. "Looks like it. That okay for you?"

The hand that wasn't on her waist cupped her cheek. "Sweetheart, that's more than okay. It's fucking incredible. God, I'm so crazy about you, Tasha." He whispered and she beamed at him.

"I know the feeling." She whispered back.

"Kiss her!" Wanda screamed from the kitchen doorway.

They both chuckled and he lowered his head to press his lips on hers. God, he had a girlfriend! And then a girlfriend as amazing and breathtaking as Natasha! They kissed softly and sweetly being aware of their audience. He'd thought that Wanda was watching them until he heard her yelling from the kitchen.

"Daddy? Are you not supposed to put the coffee beans in the mug before putting water in it?"

He pulled away from Natasha, grabbed her hand out of instinct and ran with her into the kitchen. Wanda was standing on her stool in front of the fully automated coffee machine (a gift from Tony after Wanda had gushed about the hot chocolate Pepper had made for her when they had been at their penthouse. Steve would never pay almost two grand for a coffee maker) and pouring milk into the mug under the coffee machine. She turned around and looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. "I wanted to make Natasha a latte makato but it doesn't look right."

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her away from the machine. "Wanda! I told you not to use the coffee maker on your own! You could scald yourself. Are you hurt?"

She shook her head and he saw out of the corner of his eye that Natasha was turning the machine off. "I just wanted to make something nice for Natasha!"

"I know that, but that thing is still too dangerous for you. I don't want you to get hurt." He kissed her forehead. "I'll make Nat a latte macchiato, okay?" She nodded and he let go of her. He was touched that she'd wanted to make Nat a coffee but she could have gotten seriously hurt.

Natasha squeezed his arm in a gesture of comfort and then walked to Wanda. "Thank you, Wanda. That was very sweet of you but next time ask your daddy before you do something the kitchen, okay?"

He tossed Wanda's attempt at a latte away, a little amused how she'd thought one was made.

"Is daddy now your boyfriend?" He heard Wanda ask.

"Yes, he is." Natasha chuckled. "Are you happy about that?" He turned to look at them and saw Wanda crawling into Natasha's lap. She nodded eagerly and then whispered something into Nat's ear that he couldn't hear. Natasha smiled and tugged on a strain of Wanda's hair. "Is that so?" Wanda nodded. "Well, in that case, thank you!"

Natasha braided Wanda's hair into a crown around her head after their little breakfast while he cleaned the kitchen up. He heard their voices coming from the living room and he almost dropped a coffee mug when he suddenly heard Natasha singing. Her voice was incredible! She sang one of Wanda's favorite songs with Wanda clapping excitedly. He wanted to walk into the living room but he figured that this moment should stay between Wanda and Natasha.

Natasha had already helped Wanda into her jacket and boots when he came into the hallway. He noticed much to his amusement that Natasha and his daughter really had similar pairs of boots. Only Natasha's boots had a bit of a heel. He wondered what Wanda wanted to have next because Natasha had worn it. Wanda took Natasha's hand in that moment. "Are you ready, daddy?"

"Almost. Got to put my leather jacket on." He laughed at her eagerness and got into his jacket and put his keys, phone and wallet into the pockets of his jeans. "Okay, let's go. Have you ladies decided what you want to do?" He thought that Wanda wanted to hold his hand as well when she grabbed it but she put it into Natasha's free one. Natasha smiled and he grinned back.

"We decided that we want to go rowing. And Wanda insisted that I have to ride the carousel with her." Natasha said with a fond smile on her beautiful face.

"She's never been on one here in New York!" Wanda said with big eyes. "That's not okay! Daddy, can I have my allowance for next month now, please? I wanna invite Nata but I only have two dollars." She looked at him with big and sad eyes like she always did when she wanted something from him. And when did she start calling Natasha _Nata_?

"I told you it's my treat." Natasha said with a laugh and he wanted to say that he could pay for it because he thought that he should. His mom had raised him to respect and treat women like his equal and he did, but he still thought it was the right thing to do.

Wanda had to use the bathroom again before they left and he used the time to kiss Natasha. She smiled against his lips and her hands were roaming over his shoulders. They heard the toilet flush and pulled away from each other. Wanda came back, took Natasha's hand again and told him to hold her other hand. He laughed, laced their fingers together and pressed a kiss on the back of Natasha's hand. She gave him a smile before she focused on Wanda who told her about something that had happened at school. He wondered if Natasha thought as well that the three of them together just felt so natural. Almost like Natasha had always been with them.

* * *

God, they had so much fun together. He rowed the boat around the lake in Prospect Park and looked at Natasha and Wanda who were sitting together opposite him. Wanda was sitting on Natasha's lap and both were smiling at him. He didn't know what he had done to end up with these beautiful girls in his life. And it almost took his breath away how perfect they looked together. He'd thought they were mother and daughter if he didn't know any better. Natasha paid for the carousel rides in the end and he took several pictures of Nat and Wanda riding one of the carousel's horses. Wanda sacrificed her two dollars to buy Natasha a soft serve which delighted Steve to no end. Natasha was so kind to share her ice cream with his kid.

A woman in an evening gown was walking over the field in front of them but that wasn't that strange for New York, even though it was only three pm. "Oh, that dress is so pretty." Wanda exclaimed and licked the chocolate off her fingers.

"I have a similar one." Natasha replied and he started picturing her in a gown. She would look breathtaking. Not that she didn't look amazing in her grey hoodie and jeans.

"You do?" Wanda's eyes went big. "Are you a princess?"

Natasha shook her head and laughed. "No, honey. But I sometimes have to go fancy things because of work. I have quite a few gowns, actually. I really like clothes. I even have my on walk-in-closet."

"Can I see it?" Wanda asked. "Now? Pleeease?"

Natasha looked at him. "Only if it's okay with you, Nat." He answered her unspoken question.

"Well, then let's go!"

"Yes!" Wanda squealed and jumped off the bench.

* * *

Wanda was in heaven once they arrived at Nat's apartment and Natasha showed her her closet. Steve ended up sitting on Natasha's bed where he watched their little fashion show. Natasha put on music and they both walked down the catwalk (the short distance between closet and bedroom) to show him their outfits. His little girl was having the time of her life trying Natasha's clothes on and showing them to him. His other girl presented outfits put together by Wanda and he was surprised that his jaw didn't hit the floor when Natasha walked into the room in a red ballgown.

"Wow!" He breathed out and Natasha smiled at him doing a curtsy. "You look...Wow, just wow."

"She looks like a princess!" Wanda ran into the room and jumped on Natasha's bed. She was wearing a sequin mini dress but on Wanda it was pretty much a full length gown. "You have to kiss the princess!"

He kissed Wanda on the cheek who giggled and then stood up and wrapped his arms around Natasha's waist. "You are so beautiful, Nat." He whispered and kissed her softly.

"If I'm a princess, does that mean you're my Prince Charming?" She whispered back and kissed him again.

"I sure hope so!" She smiled brightly at him and the butterflies were dancing tango in his stomach. What did he do to get her to look at him like that?

"Do you have a favorite pillow?" Wanda asked, interrupting their little moment. They both turned to look at her. Wanda had somehow found a weekender bag that was now on the bed and holding up a pillow. "Is it this one?"

"Sweetie, what are you doing?" He asked confused.

Wanda looked a him like it was obvious. "I'm packing Nata's bag for her sleepover! Do you have a favorite pillow?"

"Um..." Natasha looked unsure what to do. He didn't really know what to do either. He wouldn't mind if she'd stayed the night but did Wanda want them all to sleep in one bed again? If he was being honest, he'd love to have Natasha all to himself during the night. To fall asleep with her in his arms. Could they even have sex at his place without Wanda noticing any of it? He didn't want to traumatize her! How did other parents handle this? There was always the risk that Wanda could walk into his room during the night and see something that she wasn't supposed to see. "Uh, do you want us to have a sleepover?"

Wanda nodded eagerly. "Yes! You can tuck me in! Read me something or sing to me! Cuddle with me until I'm sleeping!" Wanda looked almost sad. "Daddy always cuddles with me but no one cuddles with him. The couples in the movies always cuddle when they fall asleep. Jemma said that her parents sometimes cuddle naked which I don't get because PJs are so comfy!"

Oh fuck! His eyes widened and Natasha looked like she was about to laugh. "You're right. PJs are super comfy. You wanna choose mine for tonight?" Wanda nodded. "Okay, they're in the second drawer of that dresser." Wanda grabbed the weekender bag and walked to the dresser.

"You're okay with me staying the night, right? Otherwise I can leave after Wanda fell asleep."

"No, you're staying. I want you to." He kissed her temple. "I really do."

She smiled. "I'll sneak sexier PJs into the bag when Wanda isn't looking." She whispered huskily but then her facial expression changed. "I mean...we don't have to with Wanda being home...I mean... I don't know how to handle this."

"Me neither. We'll figure it out. Unless Wanda has a nightmare, she's usually dead to the world. We'll see. We'll just have to be quiet."

"Okay." She nodded. "But don't think I'll be mad if we can't. I'm pretty sure cuddling with you in PJs is pretty spectacular on its own." She winked and then took Wanda's hand and walked with her to her bathroom to help her pack the bag.

They ordered pizza when they were back at his apartment and ate it on the couch while watching a movie. Wanda reminded Natasha to tuck her into bed and it took over an hour until Natasha came out of Wanda's room.

"She's asleep. She showed me all her stuffed animals and then we read two chapters of Pippi Longstocking." Natasha smiled and looped her arms around his neck. "You have a great kid."

He kissed her softly. "I know. She helps me get really beautiful and amazing women to be my girlfriend." He kissed her again, this time deeper and with more heat.

"So smooth, Rogers." She laughed and he led her by his hand to his bedroom.

He'd almost forgotten but he did remember before they drifted off to sleep that they had to put clothes on in case Wanda would burst into his bedroom during the night or tomorrow morning. He really didn't want to answer any questions about naked cuddling.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter VIII

The next weeks with Natasha were incredible. They went on more dates, he stayed at her place a few times with his mother watching Wanda and Natasha had sleepovers at his place with Wanda monopolizing her time and attention. It warmed his heart to see how much Nat and Wanda liked each other. He was happy and he knew that he was falling in love with Natasha. He'd never felt this much for a woman after only two months of being with her. It was insane but it felt too right to freak him really out. It was like Wanda signing up for Natasha's dance class at the community center had been fate.

Natasha was currently on a business trip with Pepper in Europe and Wanda wasn't the only one who was moping around. He missed her too and was basically counting the minutes until she got back. She'd sent him some _very_ sexy pictures which had almost made him drop his phone when he'd opened the message. He wasn't Bucky so no woman had ever sent him those kinds of pictures before. He quickly saved them in a different file so Wanda wouldn't stumble over them when she had his phone in her hands to look at the other photos Natasha had sent him. She gushed over the photos of Natasha posing in front of Buckingham palace and squealed when she saw the one of Natasha at King's Cross. He opened the other file when Wanda was sleeping in her bed. Natasha had sent him several pictures of herself in her underwear and one completely nude.

He opened their conversation to text her. _You're killing me, Tasha!_

He didn't have to wait long for an answer. _I have to keep you interested so Wanda doesn't look for a new girlfriend for you!:) Did you like the pics?:*_

 _Sweetheart, they are amazing! You're so beautiful!_

His phone started buzzing and he smiled when he read her name on the screen. "Hi."

"Hey!" She said softly. "I had to hear your voice!"

"I'm glad you called. I...I miss you."

"I miss you, too." She whispered back. "I wish you were here so we could explore London together. And there are so many exciting things for Wanda to see!"

That she always also thought about his daughter made him fall for her even harder. "When are you back?"

"Hopefully on Tuesday if things go well. And they should, Tony's not here." She joked and he chuckled. "Wanda's asleep, right?"

"Yep."

"So..." She whispered in a way that she usually saved for the bedroom. "What are you wearing?"

"Um..."

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" She said in a normal tone, almost sounding worried. She'd been getting him out of his comfort zone more and more. They'd even once had a quickie in her office bathroom and had been greeted by a smugly grinning Tony Stark when they'd come out.

"No, no. I've just never done this before."

"Do you want to?"

"Yes."

"Okay, then tell me what you would want to do me if we were together right now. I'll do the same."

He closed his eyes and followed her guidance. And he was proud that he managed to keep a straight face the next day when his mother asked him if he'd heard from Natasha.

* * *

Steve was in his office working on a few sketches for a political satire book when his assistant Daisy came in. "Sorry to bother you, but a Nick Fury wants to talk to you. He's pretty persistent and-" She lowered her voice. "Kinda intimidating. Like he makes me want to confess to crimes I didn't commit."

He had no idea who this Nick Fury was. But it looked like he would find out. "It's okay. Let him in."

Daisy nodded and left. A few seconds later a man in a black leather coat and with a eye patch walked in. He immediately recognized him as a fellow veteran. The way he held himself and moved was of someone who'd served. He'd probably lost his eye in combat.

"Steve Rogers?" He nodded. "I'm Nick Fury." They shook hands and he mentioned for Fury to sit down. "You probably wonder who I am." Fury chuckled.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, do we know each other?" Had he been a CO and he'd forgotten him? No, he didn't think so.

"No, but we both know Natasha."

"Is she okay? Did something happen to her?" She'd called him yesterday to tell him that she had to stay in Europe longer than expected. A business deal was threatened to fall through.

"No, she's fine. I just wanted to meet you." Fury simply answered. What the fuck was that supposed to mean?

"And who are who exactly to Natasha?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm a friend. I was a friend of her father. We worked together. I know Natasha since she was a kid. Her father saved my ass more times than I would ever admit so I got my eye on Natasha. I know that Ivan would want me to. And I won't fail him or her ever again."

He was still confused. Was this Fury guy here to give him a shovel talk? The first one to hit him with a shovel if he'd ever hurt Natasha would be his own daughter. And then his mother. She'd already invited Natasha to celebrate Thanksgiving with them.

"Natasha never mentioned you."

Fury chuckled. "I'm not surprised. Our relationship is a bit...complicated. But she's a good kid and I want her to be happy. So I'm here to make sure that you're a good guy. According to your files you are, but I had to look you in the eyes."

"You did a background check on me? Who the fuck do you think you are?" And how the fuck did he get his files? He had been Special Forces, everything he'd done for the Army was topsecret.

"A friend of Natasha and someone with friends in high places. Romanoff seems to really like you and I have to make sure that you're not an asshole. She'll be pissed at me for this but I don't care. Her safety is more important than her opinion of me." _Her safety?_ "You seem like a good guy. Otherwise they wouldn't have let you adopt a child. Don't hurt Natasha, got it? I know she seems tough but she's been through a lot. Do not cause her any pain or you'll have to answer to me and trust me, you don't want that!"

Before he could say anything to Fury, the man already had stood up and left his office. And Steve was just wondering what the fuck had just happened. But something told him that Natasha was keeping something from him. But _what?_

He called her after he'd tucked Wanda in. She didn't pick up but called him back an hour later. "Hey, babe! I'm back tomorrow evening! Can I come over after dinner? I have souvenirs for you and Wanda!"

His weird encounter with Fury overshadowed his joy for her return. "I met Nick Fury today."

Natasha didn't say anything for a while. "What did he want?" She finally said.

"Told me not to hurt you. He had access to my Army files! Who is this guy? What does he want from me? He came to my workplace, Natasha! He knows about my daughter!"

"Can you come over tomorrow night? Can someone watch Wanda for you? I have to tell you something. And I'd rather tell you that in person and not on the phone. But I swear that Fury poses no threat to you or Wanda! I swear to you! And he'll never bother you again, I swear!" She sounded so desperate that he started to panic. What was going on?

"Natasha?"

"Just please come over tomorrow. Please! I'll explain everything to you, I promise!"

She sounded so scared that he was freaking out. What was she gonna tell him tomorrow? Had everything been too good to be true after all?

* * *

He was standing in front of her door running his hand through his beard. He'd grown one during Natasha's two weeks absence because she'd mentioned that he would look hot with one. He now felt stupid for doing it. He'd done it to please his girlfriend and now he didn't even know if he would even have one at the end of the night. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Natasha opened the door seconds later. "Steve!" She smiled a little but it didn't really reach her eyes. "Please come in."

"Hi." He followed her into her living room.

"Can I offer you anything? Water? Wine? Beer?"

"No, thank you."

She nodded and sat down on the couch. "You might wanna sit down for this one. I know I should have told you this sooner but I just didn't want you to look at me differently."

"Natasha, you're scaring me. I haven't slept at all last night. I got thousand thoughts running through my head. Just tell me! Are you a con artist? Married?" He meant it mostly as a joke but Natasha wasn't laughing. "Oh my God, are you married, Natasha?"

"Not anymore."

"What?" Why didn't she tell him? Thinking about it, he didn't really know that much about her. He knew she was from Russia, her parents were both dead and she'd graduated from Colombia. He'd met her best friends Clint and Laura briefly but that was it. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"My marriage is something I want to forget. I was young and so fucking naive. I was _so_ desperately looking for a home and family, that I ignored all the red flags." She gave him a humorless laugh. "I wasn't lying when I said that only assholes go for me. I married the biggest one."

"What happened? Are you divorced?"

She shook her head. "No. Technically I'm widowed. But Fury somehow made it happen that the marriage was annulled. So I guess I was never really married."

"Widowed?"

"I killed my husband, Steve." She didn't move a muscle on her face. "Shot him with his own gun."

 _Holy shit!_ "Self defense?"

"Yeah, but it doesn't change the fact that I took a human life."

He reached over and placed his hand over hers in her lap. She seemed surprised by that. "Nat, I'm a soldier. I've killed people. I know that it's sometimes either you or them. I don't think of you any differently just because you protected your life when you had to."

She clasped her small hands around his bigger one. "My father worked as a spy for the US during the Cold War. He and Fury both worked for the CIA. My father was killed shortly after the curtain fell. He officially died of a heart attack but Fury later told me the truth. My mother worked hard to provide for us but she got cancer and died when I was sixteen. Fury helped me get into the States. Let me stay with him until I got into Colombia. I met Grant in my first year in college and fell for him immediately. He was older, tall and mysterious. We were both alone and I thought we could be each other's homes. He proposed after four months and I said yes. Fury warned me but I was angry at him. At him and my parents for lying to me my whole life. I ignored him and married Grant. He changed after the wedding. He controlled me and hit me when he was unhappy with me. Cheated on me but I stayed. I didn't know where else to go. I don't know why but he let me stay in school. Probably so I was out of the house. I found out by accident what he truly was. He was in a lot of shit." She took a deep breath and looked at him with tears in her eyes. He pulled her against his chest in an attempt to comfort her. To protect her.

"He didn't just hit and cheat on his wife. He was also a criminal. Part of a criminal organization called Hydra. The CIA and FBI were on their tails for years. One day I cleaned the house and found guns, cash and papers. He was a murderer. He even kept a list of the people he killed. He caught me going through his stuff and he attacked me. I'd gone to a few self defense classes in Russia but I had no chance against him." She buried her face in the crook of his neck and he wanted to cry for her. He had no idea that she'd gone through hell. "I was sure that he would kill me. I don't know how but I managed to knock the gun out of his hand and then I just grabbed it and fired at his chest." She whispered into his skin. "I pulled the trigger again and again until the magazine was empty. I called Fury and he took care of everything. My marriage got annulled and I was never charged with anything. I don't even think there's a police report about Grant Ward's death." She pulled away from his neck. Her eyes were red and her cheeks wet. "I understand if you want to end things with me. And I'm sorry that Fury showed up at your office and threatened you."

"He was looking out for you. I get it now. You could have told me, Nat. You have nothing to be ashamed of." He kissed her forehead.

"I didn't want to...I wanted to see where this could go. You are such a sweet and kind man and I wanted you to like me _so_ _badly_." She shook her head. "It's kind of pathetic. I wanted to get one of the good guys. I think I fell for you even before I met you. The way Wanda always talked about you..."

He cupped her face to make her look at him. "Hey. It's okay. I can understand that you want to forget that part of your life. And I'm grateful that you told me and we never have to talk about it again. And I promise you that I will never hurt you."

"I know that. I guess I shouldn't trust my gut after everything I've been through, but I trust you. And I know that you would never hurt me." She nodded and wrapped her hands around his wrists. "I trust you so much that it sometimes scares me."

"And I trust you so much that it sometimes scares me, too. I mean I have to think about Wanda and I sometimes wonder if I included her too soon but the three of us just feel so right together."

"Yeah, we do." She rubbed her hands over his forearm. "I haven't felt this welcomed and safe since my childhood. I care so much about you and Wanda. I would look at Tony and Pepper or Laura and Clint and wish I would have that too. I wanted it but I didn't think I would ever get it." She looked so small and insecure in that moment. "Until you. The first time I really looked at you after I yelled at you thinking you were some creep..." She grinned a bit. "Your eyes...they were so kind and warm."

He knew in that moment that was he felt for her was definitely love. He leaned forward and kissed her softly."I love you, Tasha." Her eyes widened. "You don't have to say anything. I just want you to know that. I love you. And what you told me didn't change anything."

She threw arms around his neck and slid into his lap. "Please don't break my heart, Steve." She kissed him in a way that took his breath away. "Can you stay the night?"

He nodded. "Yeah, Wanda is at Sam's. I told them I had to work late."

Their lovemaking was different that night. More intense and intimate. It was like the last barrier between them was gone. There were no more secrets between them. They'd laid everything open. He held Natasha in his arms afterwards, promising himself that he would protect her. That he would never let anyone hurt her ever again.

"Steve?" She whispered suddenly. He had been sure that she was already asleep.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"You look good with a beard." And then her voice got so quiet that he barely heard her. "And I love you, too."

* * *

 _Happy New Year!_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter IX

Steve came home to find Wanda and Natasha asleep on the couch. Wanda had her head on Natasha's chest and Nat's arms were wrapped around his daughter. He smiled at the sight the two made and quietly went into his bedroom to change into something more comfortable. He'd had to stay late at work today because their entire IT system got a virus and they all had to secure their work which took hours. Steve now usually picked Wanda up from Natasha's dance class and the three of them spent the evening together. They cooked together, helped Wanda with the little homework she had, and then watched a movie or played a board game together. His mother wasn't mad that she didn't pick up Wanda anymore, no she seemed pretty happy that he and Natasha were a couple.

The mother daughter dance was next week and Wanda had really wanted to do it with Natasha but they both agreed that it was too soon for something like that. Wanda hadn't seemed to completely understand it but she had been over the moon when Natasha'd turned the music on and the two of them had a dance party in his living room.

He walked back into the living room where both his girls were still sleeping. He was just glad that Wanda was already in her sleepwear and he could just bring her to bed. He gently moved Natasha's arms away to pick Wanda up and she began to stir.

"Hi, sweetheart." He smiled down at her and pecked her lips.

"Hey." She murmured softly. "Wanda wanted to wait for you."

"That sounds like her. I'll tuck her in and then I'll tuck you in, okay?" He grinned and got a grin back in return.

Wanda didn't wake up while he carried her into her room and put her into her bed. He placed her buckybear into her arms, kissed her forehead and quietly closed the door on his way out.

Natasha was sitting up when he came back into the living room. "Everything okay again at work?"

"Yeah." He sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms. "Turns out that Daisy is a genius when it comes to computers. How was it with the munchkin?"

"Great!" Natasha smiled up at him and kissed him under his jaw. "We made a casserole together, there's leftovers for you, and we practiced reading together." She moved to sit on his lap and looped her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and licked his lips thinking that she wanted to make out. She did kiss him but pulled away when he tried to lick his way into her mouth. She chuckled and pecked his lips. "One moment, Casanova! I was wondering if you'd be okay with it if I go with Wanda to a tea party? Did you know that there's an Eloise tea room at the Plaza? Do you think that Wanda would like that?" She looked at him almost shyly.

"God, I love you!" He buried his hand in her hair and pulled her down to kiss her. She smiled against his lips and leaned her forehead against his. "Wanda will freak out if you take her! I think once she realizes that she can do things just with you, she'll want me to stay at home all the time."

Natasha laughed. "I don't think so. She adores you. And I do, too." She had a soft look in her eyes and brushed her lips against his. "I'm so glad I met you two. I love you, Steve." She ran her fingers through his beard. "And you know what I also love?"

"What?" He chuckled because he had a clue where she was going with this. "How your beard feels against my skin." Her thumb swiped over his lower lip. "Especially on the insides of my thighs."

He cupped her beautiful behind and stood up from the couch with her legs wrapped around his waist to carry her into his bedroom.

* * *

Wanda jumped into his bed the next morning and cuddled with Natasha while he took a shower. He was pretty sure that Natasha was inviting Wanda to the tea party judging by the squeals he heard coming from the bedroom. He got out of the shower, toweled himself off and changed into slacks and a button down. He had to buy new ones soon because Natasha had started to steal his clothes. Not that he really minded. She looked way better in his clothes and a little possessive voice in his head told him that it was a way to show that she was _his_.

The bedroom was empty and he heard voices coming from the smaller bathroom down the hallway. He walked out of his bedroom and saw Wanda coming out of the other bathroom. She was wearing a dress, a sweater over it and black tights. He smiled to himself sure that Natasha had picked out the outfit. And she had also braided Wanda's hair into a pretty fishtail braid.

"Nata is showering, daddy." She said and twirled around. "I asked her to style me. How do I look, daddy?"

"Very pretty, sweetie. Let's make breakfast, okay?"

Natasha was done once the breakfast was ready. Wanda had all sorts of question for Natasha about the tea party and almost fell of her chair in excitement when Natasha had the idea to have an entire girls day in Manhattan next weekend.

"Yes! A girls day! That means you can't come with us, daddy!" She said with a stern look on her face. "Girls only!"

"I know, kiddo." He laughed and squeezed Natasha's knee. Natasha was just smiling at him and he could see how happy she was.

They walked Wanda to her school where she demanded a kiss from both of them and afterwards he and Nat walked hand in hand to the subway station. She asked him again if she could bring anything to his mom's for Thanksgiving next week but he told her not to. He knew that she was nervous about meeting his mother and a few family friends officially as his girlfriend. Which she didn't have to be. His mother had been over the moon when he'd told her that he and Natasha were a couple.

"Shouldn't I bring a pie or something?"

"Can you bake?" He asked, remembering that Wanda wanted to bake Christmas cookies with her next month.

"No." She admitted with pink cheeks. "But I could buy one. I can't just show up empty handed."

"My ma already loves you and she makes all the food herself. And Bucky and his sister and mom don't care if you bring a pie or not. They're not bringing anything either. My ma won't tolerate it." He kissed her cheek. She nodded and kissed the corner of his mouth. They had to separate at the subway station to get to their work places. She kissed him goodbye and he watched her disappear in the crowd. God, the fact that she wanted to impress his mother just warmed his heart. And that she invited Wanda to a girls day made him fall in love with her all over again. She was such a kind and sweet person and he hated it that she had been through hell. They never talked again about what she had told him that night but he could understand now why she was so hesitant and unsure sometimes like she couldn't believe that he and Wanda wanted her in their life. But they did and they would never let her go again.

* * *

Natasha showed up at his mother's doorstep at exact 12 o'clock looking like a dream. She'd curled her long red hair and wore a pretty black floral dress underneath her coat. She smiled brightly at him and he managed to steal a kiss before Wanda pushed him out of the way to greet her.

"Happy Thanksgiving!" Wanda threw her arms around Natasha's waist. Natasha laughed and knelt down to press a kiss on Wanda's cheek.

His mother came into the hallway and gave Natasha a hug. "Happy Thanksgiving, dear! I'm so happy that you're celebrating it with us this year."

"Me, too." Natasha smiled shyly and pulled a bouquet of flowers out of her tote. "Those are for you, Sarah. Thank you for having me."

"Oh, Natasha. You shouldn't have!"

Wanda took her hand and walked with her into the dining room where Bucky and his family were already sitting at the table. And Steve had to admit that he was incredibly proud when he introduced Natasha to Winnie and Becca. And as it turned out she'd also brought boxes of chocolates for them. Bucky tried to steal his mother and sister's but they were having none of it.

Lunch was amazing. Natasha got along incredibly well with his family and she seemed to feel comfortable around them. Winnie and Becca immediately liked Natasha and Bucky jokingly flirted with her until Wanda punched him telling him to look somewhere else _for a lady._ They all laughed and he didn't miss how Wanda made sure that Bucky was never near Natasha the whole day. He chuckled at her protectiveness but took her to the side to explain to her that Bucky had been just joking.

"We can't lose her, daddy!" Wanda said with a serious look on her face. "I love her."

He pulled his daughter into a hug and kissed the top of her head. "I love her, too."

Wanda looked up at him and her eyes lit up. "You do?"

He nodded. "Yes. And she loves me, too."

She beamed at him and ran away. He followed her and watched how Wanda threw herself into Natasha's arms. "You're the best, Nata!"

* * *

They got home late after spending the whole day with his family and Wanda was asleep as soon as her head hit her pillow. Natasha was putting the food containers his ma'd given them into the fridge when he looked for her. He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and kissed the back of her head.

"I had a great time today." She said, placing her hand on his on her stomach. "Your family is amazing. They all love you so much."

He turned her in his arms and kissed her. "Wanda told me that she loves you. That's why she was so mad at Bucky today."

Her whole face lit up. "She does? She means the world to me, Steve. And not just because she's my boyfriend's daughter. I felt connected to her even before I met you."

God, she was so perfect! He cupped her face and kissed her deeply. "You're the most incredible person I've ever met." They kissed again and ended up on his couch. She was lying underneath him and they were necking like teenagers.

"So I'll pick Wanda up around one on Saturday?" She asked between heated kisses.

"Sounds good." He mumbled against her lips and his hand on her waist pulled her closer to him. He trailed kisses along her jaw and her neck. Natasha moaned softly and arched her chest against his.

"So I was thinking that I could put a bed in my office at my apartment." She panted while he tugged the neckline of her dress down to press kisses on her chest. It took a moment for his brain to catch up. Bed? "And maybe a few books and fairy lights, so Wanda has a little space for herself."

He pulled away from her chest. "Huh?"

"Well..." He did't think her face and chest were just flushed because she was aroused. She seemed a bit embarrassed. "Well, maybe Wanda could stay over as well if she had her own little corner. Maybe sometimes on the weekend? There are so many great things for kids in Manhattan. Broadway shows for example and then you and Wanda wouldn't have to go back to Brooklyn..." She trailed off and he quickly kissed her.

"You'd do that?"

"Of course!"

"God, I'm so in love with you. That's a great idea, sweetheart. I wouldn't be surprised if Wanda wants to move in with you. She'll probably ask you if you could put the bed in your closet."

Natasha laughed and ran her hands up and down his back. "So you think it's a good idea?"

"It's a great idea!"

She smiled and pulled him down for a kiss. Their kisses grew deeper and more heated and he slipped his hand underneath her dress groaning when he realized that she wasn't just wearing normal tights. No, his fingertips touched her bare skin. She was wearing stockings!

"Tasha!" He whined, sat up and pushed the skirt of her dress up to look at her. "That's not fair!" He played with her garter belt.

"Says the guy who always turns me on with his beard!" She popped her foot on his shoulder and smirked. "You like?"

He didn't answer her but threw her over his shoulder and marched with her into his bedroom.

Wanda asked them the next morning if the neighbors were renovating because she'd heard banging against the wall during the night. He wanted to hide underneath the kitchen table because he had no idea what to answer. He couldn't tell her that it had been _his_ headboard that had banged against the wall last night, The stockings had woken a side in him he hadn't known existed but Natasha had been pretty into it judging by the way she'd bitten into her balled fist to muffle her sounds.

Natasha saved the day by asking Wanda if she should help her choose a outfit for their girls day tomorrow. She followed his daughter out of the kitchen and looked over her shoulder and winked at him before she was out of his sight.

He later found them sitting on the floor in Wanda's room where his kid showed Natasha a photo album. Wanda crawled into his girlfriend's lap and Natasha looked up at him and they smiled at each other. God, he loved his girls so much.

* * *

 _A little heads up: the next chapter will in Wanda's POV_


	10. Chapter 10

_This chapter is in Wanda's POV!_

* * *

Chapter X

Wanda packed her backpack while daddy was doing the dishes. She'd never done a girls day before and she was soo excited to do one with Nata! Nata was so pretty and cool and Wanda just wanted to be like her when she was grown up. She went to her secret hiding spot in her room and pulled the gift out she'd made last week with Granny. Granny had helped her glue sparkly stones on a box for Nata's jewelry. She always wore so pretty necklaces and bracelets!

"Wanda, are you ready? Nat's gonna be here soon!" Daddy yelled from the kitchen. She put her backpack on and gave her buckybear a hug before she walked to daddy.

"What do you have in that backpack, sweetie?" Daddy asked when she was in the kitchen.

"Nothing. Just stuff." She didn't want daddy to know about her surprise for Nata. She'd heard Nata tell daddy that she had ways to make him talk in a strange way (her voice sounded so different) and daddy just chuckled. She didn't want daddy to spill the beans.

"Just stuff?" Daddy laughed and shook his head. "Okay. Let's go through a things first before Nat's here. You'll listen to her, okay? Don't run away from her and always say please and thank you, got it?"

She nodded. "Yes, daddy. I know."

Daddy smiled. He smiled a lot since Nata came into their lives. And he had a beard now and Wanda was pretty sure that he'd grown it for Nata since she always ran her fingers through it when they were all cuddling on the couch. Their stupid neighbor Sharon had complimented daddy on his beard but he didn't seem to care what she'd thought about it. Wanda liked their other neighbors May and Peter so much better! Sharon always talked to her like she was dumb but Peter and his friend Ned had even let her help them with a science project!

"Okay, then I hope you two have lots of fun." Daddy nodded.

The doorbell rang and she sprinted out of the kitchen before daddy could open the door. She opened it and Nata was standing in front of her. She looked so stylish in her teddybear coat and she wore such a cool hat! Maybe daddy could buy her one, too?

"Hi, sweetie!" Nata knelt down and hugged her. She always smelled so good! "Excited for our day?"

"She's been talking about it non stop this morning." Daddy said, walking into the hallway.

"Hey." Nata smiled the smile she only had for daddy and stood up again.

"Hi, Nat." Daddy always looked so happy when Nata was around and kissed her on the cheek. "You look great."

"Thank you. But not as great as Wanda." Nata said to her with a wink. She had to giggle. Nata was always so sweet to her. And daddy. "I'll bring her home after dinner?"

"Are we having a sleepover?" She asked daddy and Nata. Nata always had a dance party in her room with her when she slept over and she once saw her and daddy dancing in the living room when she'd gotten up to pee. They had been dancing very closely to each other with their foreheads touching. They had looked so cute together! But then daddy's hand moved to Nata's tushy and she'd quickly run to the bathroom.

"Do you want us to have one?" Nata asked and daddy smiled.

"Yes!"

"Okay, then we're gonna have one, kiddo!"

Daddy said bye to them and then Nata took her hand walked with her to the subway station. Daddy was watching them from the living room window when she turned around to look at the apartment building.

* * *

They stepped out of the subway station and walked down a street with lots of pretty stores. Wanda had to gush at all those pretty clothes. She couldn't wait until she was old enough to buy those things!

"So the tea party isn't until three, do you wanna get a manicure?" Nata asked her when they passed by a nail salon.

"Really? But I don't think I'm allowed to." Daddy had said no when she'd asked him for nail polish a few weeks ago because Nata's nail were always such a pretty red.

"I asked your dad. Don't worry. They have special nail polishes just for kids. He's okay with it."

"He is?" Oh, that was so cool! She was gonna look just like a grown up! Nata nodded and they walked into the nail salon. Nata chose the same nail color and they both had soft pink nails when they walked out of the store. The woman doing her nails had told her that the queen of England wore the same color. The queen of England!

The Eloise room was pink and so pretty that Wanda couldn't help but squeal when they walked in. Everything looked so fancy! There were even waiters in fancy suits who walked them to their table!

"You like it so far?" Nata asked and she almost looked shy. Why? Nata was the most confident person ever! Even more than Buckybear!

"Yes, Nata! Thank you so much!" She said and Nata smiled.

They ordered tiny sandwiches and the tea came served in pretty china. Wanda felt so fancy and like a grown up! Did grown ups do this all the time? Other girls were here as well, probably with their moms but Wanda noticed that none of them were as pretty as her Nata.

Nata told her stories about the places she had been. She had seen so much of the world! That was so cool! "Did you buy that bracelet in Shanghai?" She asked because her bracelet was so pretty!

"No. I found it in a little boutique in Brussels. Do you like it?"

"Yes. It's very pretty!" It was made out of a thin chain with a round pendant that sparkled prettily when the lights hit it.

Nata was taking it off her wrist. "Then it's yours." She took her arm and wrapped the bracelet around her wrist two times.

"What?" She gasped.

"I want you to have it." Nata smiled and looked at her arm. "Looks great on you, sweetie!"

She jumped off her chair to hug Nata. "Thank you so much! I will always wear it! I'm never taking it off!"

Nata chuckled and kissed the top of her head. She wondered if mommies were this nice to their daughters. Was this what having a mommy felt like? She loved her daddy very much but she also loved Nata so much.

Wanda had to pee from all that tea and lemonade and left to go to the ladies room. Even the bathrooms were super fancy here! Another girl was washing her hands as well.

"Hi, I'm Cassie!"

"Hi, I'm Wanda!"

"I'm here with my mommy and my daddy's girlfriend Hope. Your mommy is so pretty! Is that her real hair color?"

"Yes, it is." She didn't see why she should correct Cassie. If she could pick someone to be her mommy, then she wanted Nata to be her mom. She made her and daddy so happy!

* * *

Nata bought a cake for daddy before they left the Plaza and then they went shopping! She'd only ever gone shopping with daddy and Granny before and only to kids' stores but Nata went with her to real boutiques and stores that sold lipsticks and stuff! And Nata asked her for her opinion and bought the lipstick she'd picked! And then Nata bought her a teddybear coat! It almost looked like Nata's, just the color was a bit different.

"Thank you so, so much!"

Nata laughed. "You're welcome. Consider it a belated birthday present, Wanda."

They walked to Natasha's apartment so Nata could leave her new stuff there and put daddy's cake into the fridge while they would have dinner. They were going to eat burgers! Nata let her go through her vanity while she was in the bathroom and she remembered that she had a gift for her. She walked into the hallway to get her backpack and saw a ballerina on a napkin on the corkboard in the hallway. Wanda was sure that daddy had drawn that ballerina.

Nata came into the hallway. "I think we'll have to come back after dinner to get Steve's cake. Is that okay? We'll take a cab to Brooklyn then."

"That's okay, Nata." She held the box up so Nata could see it. "Here for you."

"Did you make this for me?"

"Yes. With Granny's help."

Nata gasped. "Oh God, Wanda! Thank you so much!" She knelt down and pressed her against her body. Wanda buried her face in Nata's neck. She always smelled so good and sometimes daddy smelled like her in the morning, too. "I love it, Wanda."

Nata pulled away and she had tears in her eyes. "Are you okay?"

She laughed and sniffed. "Yes, kiddo. I just...You're a very special girl, you know." She brushed a strain of hair behind her ear.

"I love you, Nata." She told her because Granny always said to tell people what they meant to you. Nata cried a little bit but she laughed, too. So she wasn't sad, right?

"And I love you, you amazing and sweet girl!" Natasha pressed her against her body again and kissed her forehead.

Wanda snuggled closer to her and decided that this was what having a mommy was like. She felt as safe and happy as when daddy hugged her. "Are you gonna be my mommy one day?" She blurted out.

Nata didn't say anything at first but her hold tightened. She kissed the top of her head and then loosened her hold on her to look at her. "Wanda, I love you and your father very much. I haven't felt this loved and safe in...in forever." She looked sad for a moment but then she smiled. "But those things take time, okay? Your dad and I just started dating but I am not going anywhere. I'm always there for you, sweetie. Okay?"

"Okay..." She said, wondering if daddy would let her use his laptop so she could google how those things worked. Daddy had to marry Nata, right? Then she could adopt her and they were all one family? When did men propose usually? Did daddy have enough money to buy Nata a diamond ring? So many things she had to google! Did she know any married people? Uncle Tony and Auntie Pepper! She was gonna ask them! If daddy and Nata were married, then she would have to stay with them, right? She would be forever in her life and always be her mommy, right? And daddy would always be happy!

"Wanda, you look a bit sad."

"No, it's just...Please don't leave us. Daddy has never been so happy before and I...I love you like I think I would love a mommy if I had one. And I don't want you to just leave one day and if you were my mommy, then you couldn't leave us!"

Nata smiled and kissed her forehead. "I promise you that I won't leave you. I've had some...some not so nice times in my life but with you and your father...I've never been so happy before. Like I said, I will always be there for you. I'm your friend, Wanda. You can always count on me. And we can have this conversation again. One day in the future with your dad, okay?"

"Okay. Are you celebrating Christmas with us?"

"I would love to, Wanda."

"Do you know how to bake Christmas cookies?"

"Um, no. I'm sorry."

"That's okay. We'll show you." She assured her and snuggled closer to Nata again.

* * *

Natasha took her to a diner where they had the best burgers ever! And Mister Stan even made her special cookie dough that she could eat raw! And Mister Stan was so funny! He looked like a grandpa from the movies!

"You know, I've been here with your dad before." Nata said before sipping on her milkshake.

"You were? On a date?" She asked. "Did he take you to Build-a-bear yet?"

"Hm? Um, no. He didn't. Maybe the three of us can go, though. Well, I thought it was kind of a date but your daddy didn't." Nata laughed. Huh, wasn't daddy as smart as she thought he was after all?

Nata paid and then they walked back to her apartment to pick up daddy's cake. Wanda thought she saw a dark haired man watching them but he was gone when she turned around again. She shrugged her shoulders and walked with Nata up the stairs of her building. Nata let her put her jewelry into her new box while she packed a bag for the night.

"Ready, sweetie?" Nata came out of the bathroom into her bedroom.

"Yup. Everything's organized!"

Nata smiled and they walked downstairs to get a cab. She thought she'd seen the man again but he wasn't there when she looked again. Weird. Maybe daddy was right and she shouldn't eat so much sugar but Mister Stan's cookie dough was so yummy!

Daddy greeted them with hugs and kisses and they told him about their girls day until she had to go to bed. Daddy read her a chapter of Pippi Longstocking and kissed her forehead.

"So you had a great day with Nat?"

"Yes! I told her I love her and she loves me, too!"

Daddy smiled. "Yeah, we're pretty lucky, huh?"

"Are you gonna ask her to marry you, daddy?"

He looked bit a shocked but then he smiled. "Not anytime soon. But I'm not ruling it out. Goodnight, munchkin."

"Goodnight, daddy!"

She woke up a few hours later and wanted to check if daddy and Nata were still awake but she heard weird noises when she stood in front of daddy's bedroom door.

"Steve!" Nata said in a very weird way. Her voice sounded so breathy. "I love you so much! Don't stop!"

"God, I love you." Daddy groaned in the way he always did when he was lifting weights at the gym with Buckybear. She sometimes came with them and sneaked into the Zumba classes. Were daddy and Nata working out in the middle of the night?

She padded back to her room and crawled back into bed to snuggle with buckybear. "Adults are weird!" She told him and closed her eyes again.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter XI

Wanda was spending the weekend with his mother so Steve was staying at Natasha's place. They'd gone out with Sam and Bucky last night and he was so proud to call Nat his girl. She got along with his two best friends so well and it'd felt good to dance with her on the dance floor. Natasha really knew how to move and they'd had so much fun in that bar. They'd barely made it into her apartment until he'd pressed her against a wall in her hallway and pushed her leather skirt up so she could wrap her legs around his waist.

They stayed in bed until mid Saturday morning just kissing and caressing each other. He loved it when Wanda crawled into bed with them in the mornings to cuddle but he also loved to have Nat to himself. To have the time to kiss her thoroughly until her lips were red and swollen and to explore every inch of her body. To feel her soft skin against his. The way she looked at him with a soft smile on her lips and the sound of her laugh when he kissed that spot under her left ribs where she was ticklish. She was so beautiful that it sometimes took his breath away. He loved her with every fiber of his being. Natasha and Wanda were his entire world.

They showered together until the hot water was gone and he decided to take his girl out for breakfast when she was sitting at her vanity getting ready and proudly showing him the jewelry box Wanda had made for her. He smiled to himself thinking about how proud Wanda was about the bracelet Natasha had giving her. She'd almost punched Bucky in the face when she'd pushed her arm up to show it to him.

They found a little cafe not far away from her apartment and he couldn't stop looking at her. What did he do to deserve such a great woman in his life? Natasha licked the cappuccino foam off her upper lip and smiled at him. He couldn't stop thinking about what Wanda and then later Natasha had told him. That Wanda wanted Natasha to be her mother. That she wanted him to marry her. It was _way_ too soon for that, but he'd be lying if he said that he didn't think about a future with Natasha. He wanted to wake up every day beside her. He could definitely see a wedding in their future. And he wouldn't object to Natasha adopting Wanda one day if they both wanted that. But it was too soon for that. But one day...

"So, I was thinking that we could make coq au vin tonight. We could go to the supermarket after we're finished here." Nat said before taking a bite of her avocado toast.

"I've never made it before, but sure." He smiled. Her best friends Clint and Laura would come over tonight. He'd only met them briefly and he was kind of nervous to really meet them. He knew that Natasha had met Clint after Ward's death since he'd been the FBI agent who had been on the case. "I hope they like me."

"Don't worry. Laura's been gushing about your smile and strong arms ever since she met you at that bakery. And Clint likes to act all tough but he's a big softie. They just want me to be happy-" She blushed a little and he couldn't help but find it adorable. " And I've never been so happy before."

"Me neither. And Wanda is so happy since you came into our lives."

He paid, wrapped his arm around her shoulders and they walked together to the Whole Foods around the block. Natasha told him that she'd had looked online for beds for Wanda and wanted his input before she ordered one. And she wanted to know what she should get Wanda and his mother for Christmas. He was already so excited to spend Christmas with her! The two of them watching Wanda open her presents on Christmas morning...

He had the strange feeling that someone was watching them on their way to the store but he didn't see anyone suspicious. They got into the supermarket and Natasha told him to get a few things while she would go to the butcher to get chicken thighs. She grabbed his face and kissed him before she walked further into the store to get the meat. She looked over her shoulder and winked before she disappeared behind a wine rack.

He smiled to himself and pushed the cart over to the produce aisle. A man was next to him while he picked out potatoes. "Man, I wished my lady looked like yours."

"Excuse me?"

"Ah, sorry. I just saw you kiss that hot chick!" He chuckled. "Man, are you a lucky guy!" He narrowed his eyes at the stranger. He was tall and muscular, had short black hair and Steve disliked him immediately. He just had something about him that reminded him of a bully. And he didn't like bullies. "You guys just got together?"

"Do we know each other?"

"No, no." He chuckled again. "I just noticed the beautiful and super hot woman and thought, hey maybe she's single but then I saw her kissing you."

"Didn't you just say you have a _lady_?"

He laughed. "So?"

Yeah, he definitely didn't like this guy. He put the potatoes and a few carrots into the cart. "Have a nice day." He said and walked away. What a fucking douche. He hoped his _lady_ would leave that scumbag soon.

He met Natasha in the cheese aisle and she noticed his mood change immediately. "What's wrong, babe?"

"Just some dick thought he had to talk to me." He didn't want to tell her more. He didn't want her to know that some random ass had objectified her. He'd noticed how some men looked at Natasha and it made him furious. She wasn't just some piece of meat and he had no doubt that they would catcall or even harass her if he weren't with her. He would definitely make Wanda take self defense classes when she was older.

"Don't let a stranger ruin your day." She said with a smile and pecked his lips. They got the rest from their grocery list and Steve couldn't help but look around for that guy but he didn't see him anywhere. They paid and he carried the bags back to Natasha's place. They put everything away, sat down on her couch to order a bed for Wanda and ended up having sex on that couch before they got up to make the coq au vin.

* * *

"And then Nat over here pretended to be an American movie star and the bouncer let us go before he could throw me through the window. She gave autographs and everything and then we got out of there."

"I saved your ass, Barton!" Natasha laughed and sipped on her wine.

"How the fuck was I supposed to know that horrible folklore singer was his sister!" Clint shot back. "They did not look alike _at all_!"

Laura rolled her eyes. "You shouldn't have started to throw your bread at her!"

"She was terrible! My ears were bleeding!"

Natasha took Steve's hand and laced their finger together. He didn't miss how Laura smiled at that. "He's a bit overreacting but she wouldn't have won Hungarian Idol." She laughed. "Anyway, that's what happened in Budapest."

He offered to put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher while the others got everything ready for Activity in the living room. He was almost done when Laura came into the kitchen.

"I like you, Steve Rogers." She said with a smile.

"Thanks?"

She laughed. "Nat's very happy. I've never seen her like this before. You're good for her. And she's crazy about your kid."

"Wanda is crazy about her, too." He told her with a smile.

"Yeah, Nat has always been good with our kids but I think Wanda is different for her. Looks like she's ready to be more than Auntie Nat." Laura said with a wink and then she touched his bicep. "Sorry, I just had to." She said with pink cheeks. "Man, _good_ for Nat!" She chuckled and left the kitchen.

Natasha and Clint were bickering about something when he joined them in the living room but her whole face lit up when she saw him. He smiled back and sat down next to her on the couch. She snuggled against him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. They decided to play couple against couple. He and Nat were good but Clint and Laura beat them by a few points. Not that he really cared. He was just happy that he got to know Natasha's friends better.

Clint gave him a firm handshake before he and his wife left. "You're a good guy, Rogers. Take good care of her. She's very special."

"Clint!" Nat and Laura said at the same time. Nat sounded annoyed and Laura amused.

"Don't worry, Clint. I will. My daughter would have my head if I didn't." He joked sightly and Barton nodded.

"Good. Next time will do something with the kids. I'm sure Lila would love to meet your kid."

"Sounds great."

Natasha said goodbye to her friends and she raised her eyebrow at him after she closed the door. "And?"

"They care about you a lot. And I really like them. Laura grabbed my biceps." He told her with a grin.

Natasha laughed and came over to hug him. She rested her chin on his chest and looked up at him. "Poor Clint. Your arms will be all she'll be talking about in the next days. Maybe next time you could wear a tank top for her."

He snorted at her remark and leaned down to kiss her. "You're a dork." She grinned against his lips and kissed him back. They stumbled through her apartment to her bedroom and landed on her bed with her on top of him.

"I think Lila and Wanda will become great friends."

"Yeah?" He asked and slid his hands into the back of her jeans.

She chuckled and nibbled on his lower lip. "Yeah." He started to knead her beautiful behind and she moaned softly. "Oh, that feels good."

"I love you." He whispered before he flipped them and he could admire Natasha with her red hair spilled around her head on the sheets like a halo. "God, you're so beautiful, Tasha."

Her fingers traced lines across his face. "I never thought I would have a home again and then I met you. You're the sweetest man I've ever met." She pulled his head down and kissed him until they were out of breath. "Make love to me, Steve."

And he did, trying to show her _how much_ he loved her.

* * *

It was Tuesday evening and he was sitting with Wanda on the couch. He let her play a game on his tablet while he was working on some sketches for his new project.

It was maybe silly but he hadn't seen Natasha since Sunday afternoon when he'd left her apartment and he missed her terribly. He couldn't wait until tomorrow when he would pick up both Wanda and Natasha from the dancing class and they would all finally spend time together again. People or rather the parents of the other kids started talking about them, but he honestly didn't care what they thought. Hunter had been a bit hostile to him last week, probably pissed that Natasha hadn't decided to date him.

He and Wanda wanted to bake cookies with Nat tomorrow and then watch a Christmas movie. They had bought Christmas PJs for Nat that matched their own. A _total_ coincidence of course! Wanda had been bugging him since the start of December if he'd already had a gift for Natasha and that he should totally buy her a diamond ring. _Uncle Tony had bought Auntie Pepper her ring at Carter!_ It taken him five minutes to realize that she'd meant _Cartier_! And how did Wanda even know where Tony'd gotten Pepper's engagement ring? Did she ask him? He wouldn't buy Nat a diamond ring for this Christmas but if things went well...Maybe next Christmas...

His phone vibrated on the coffee table and he picked it up. He smiled when he read the name on the screen. "Hi, sweetheart. How-"

"Steve!" She interrupted him in a harsh whisper. "Please call Clint! You have his number, right? Someone is trying to get into my apartment!"

"What!" He jumped off the couch and Wanda looked at him with big eyes. His reaction had scared her. Hell, he was scared for Nat. "Are you at home right now? Call the cops!"

"No! If...if this is Hydra then the cops won't come. Hydra is everywhere. Call Clint! I don't have much time and I wanted to hear your voice in case...Call Clint, he'll know what to do. He's the only one we can trust. I love you, Steve."

"Nat-" He choked out and Wanda was crying and tugging on his leg. God, he was so fucking terrified.

"I love you. I just wanted you to know that. Thank you for everything. I love you." He heard a loud bang, like a door being burst open. Fuck, they were in her apartment! "I love you so much. I'll love you forever." Natasha whispered and then the call ended.

"Daddy? Daddy!" Wanda screamed. "What's wrong? Daddy! What's wrong?!"

He dialed Clint's number and pressed Wanda against him. "Clint, someone is breaking into Nat's apartment and she thinks it's Hydra."

"Fuck!" Clint murmured. "Okay. Stay right where you are, Rogers. My team and I are on our way." He said and hang up.

"Daddy?" Wanda was still sobbing. "Is Nata hurt?"

"I..." Fuck, he felt like he was going to vomit. He picked Wanda up, ran into her room to get her buckybear and grabbed his phone, wallet and keys. He got out of the apartment and knocked on May Parker's door. He hoped that she or her teenage nephew were at home.

May opened the door. "Hi."

"I'm sorry but can you watch Wanda for me? My girlfriend had an accident and I have to go."

"Of course." She nodded and he let Wanda down.

Wanda was just staring at him. "Sweetie, everything's gonna be okay. I'm gonna help Nat and then we're gonna pick you up, okay? May is gonna watch you until we're back, okay?" Wanda didn't look convinced but nodded, pressing her buckybear tightly against her chest. He kissed her forehead and thanked May before he ran down the stairs and got onto his Harley to drive to Manhattan. He prayed to God that Natasha was fine. That she was unhurt and safe. He didn't know what he would do if she wasn't. If she...No, he couldn't think like that!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter XII

FBI vans were in front of Natasha's apartment building and the whole place was on lock down. It had taken him over an hour to get to Manhattan thanks to a fucking congestion. Steve parked his Harley and tried to get past by the police tape but he was stopped by two officers. He looked everywhere for Nat but he didn't see her. He tried to calm himself, that didn't have to mean anything. Maybe she was still in her apartment and giving a statement! _She's okay, she's okay. She has to be! I can't lose her!_

"Let me through! Please!" He pleaded with the officers. He saw Clint coming out of the building. He was alone and he didn't know how to read his facial expression. "Clint!"

Barton looked up and motioned for the officers to let him through. Steve ran immediately to him. "I thought I told you to stay right where you are!"

"Where is she? Is she okay? Can I see her?" He asked frantically. He was about to lose his mind. He didn't think he had ever been this scared before.

Clint took a deep breath. "I don't know where she is. We have reason to believe that they took her. A neighbor saw a big man throw a petite redhead into a van. He couldn't give us the plate."

"What? They took her?" He felt sick. She could be anywhere by now! She could be dea- _No! Don't finish that thought._

"We're already checking CCTV. We'll find her. Did she tell you anything else?"

He wanted to scream. He wanted to find whoever took her and kill them. "No! She just told me to call you because you're the only one we can trust."

"Yeah." Clint looked grim. "The neighbor called the cops. Well, he couldn't know anything about Hydra. I really thought we shut down them for good after Ward's death and the evidence we found at his house." Clint clapped him on the shoulder. "Go home, Steve. There's nothing you can do right now."

"But I-"

"I promise I'll call if we got something. Go home."

"Boss?" A man was coming towards them.

"I'll be right with you, Rollins." Clint nodded and then looked at Steve again. "Go home, Rogers."

Clint was right. There was nothing that he could do for Nat right now. God, he was so fucking useless. The woman he loved was in danger and there was nothing he could do to save her.

He felt numb on his way back to Brooklyn. God, what was he supposed to tell _Wanda_? She knew that something was wrong and she had been so scared when he'd dropped her off at May's. How the hell was he supposed to tell her that the woman she pretty much considered her mother was missing?

Natasha had called him over _two hours_ ago and a lot could have happend to her during that time. He felt his phone vibrating in the inner pocket of his leather jacket and he pulled over to answer it. Hopefully it was Clint with good news! He checked the screen but he didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?"

"Steve!" Oh God, that was Natasha's voice!

"Nat? Are you o-"

"Are you alone?"

"Yes. What's-"

"I'm using some pay phone at the 95 in Jersey, I think. He stopped the van because he wanted...He tried to...But I think I knocked him out. I think I ran past a gas station with pink fuel pumps but I'm hiding in the woods so he doesn't find me."

God, she was safe! _For now_. He sighed in relief. "Stay where you are! I'm calling Clint and then we're getting you."

"No! This guy, the things he said...I think there's a mole on Clint's team. If Clint knows where I am, the mole knows!"

"Okay." _Shit!_ "Go back into the woods. I think I know what gas station you mean. I'm on my Harley. I'm coming to pick you up. Only come out of the woods if you see me, okay? I'm coming, Nat."

"I'm scared, Steve."

"I know. I'll be right there." He was scared as well. What if her attacker would find her before Steve could? Natasha hung up because she was running out of coins and he quickly texted his mother to pick up Wanda from his neighbor and to go with her to Bucky. They would be safe with him. Bucky could protect them. _He_ had to protect Natasha.

He started his Harley and drove to New Jersey.

* * *

He drove past the gas station and didn't see a van on his way to Jersey. Was the guy already looking for Natasha? Had he parked somewhere on a side road because he wanted to...He couldn't even finish that thought. He knew what Natasha had been trying to tell him. God, Steve hoped he would find that guy so he could kill him with his bare hands! He couldn't even imagine what Natasha was going through right now.

He slowed down once he'd driven past the gas station and he was glad that the highway was pretty much empty. He saw the pay phone and pulled over. Was Nat still here or did she have to run further to get away from her abductor? What if the scumbag had found her...

He heard noises coming from the woods and then he saw a figure between the trees. He couldn't really see much due to the darkness but then the figure came running towards him and it was Natasha. _Oh, thank God!_

He got up from his bike and ran towards her. She threw herself into his open arms and he clutched her desperately to his body. She was sobbing and shaking in his arms.

"I was so scared, Steve!" She mumbled into his chest.

"God, sweetheart. I thought...God... I'm here now. You're safe, Natasha. Let's get you home."

"No!" She pulled away from him and shook her head. And he _really_ looked at her for the first time. There was dried blood on her temple, her hoodie (that she'd stolen from him weeks ago) was ripped along the neckline and she was only wearing yoga pants. No shoes. And it was _December_. He quickly shrugged off his leather jacket to wrap it around her.

"Nat, we have to get you to a hospital."

"No! We don't know who the mole on Clint's team is. We don't know how many agents and cops are on Hydra's payroll!"

"Then let's go to my place!"

She shook her head. "No, I won't put Wanda or you in any danger! Just drop me off by the next motel and I hide there until it's safer again."

"You think I'll just leave you behind? No!"

"Think about Wanda!"

"She's safe with my ma and Bucky. But you're not safe all alone in a motel room!" He shot her a pleading look. "I thought I would never see you again. I'm not leaving you!"

"Steve-"

"No!" He cupped her face and kissed her. "We're staying together!"

"What are we gonna do?" She asked with big eyes and he could see how scared she still was.

"We have to get off the street. Find a motel and stay there for the night. We have to contact Clint somehow without anyone on his team noticing."

He gave Nat his helmet and helped her onto his bike because she was still in shock. He drove past by the first motel and chose the second one as their destination. Better be safe than sorry. He told Nat to hide between the cars on the parking lot while he went in to get them a room. He didn't want anyone to know that he had company. He thanked the universe that he had enough cash to pay and didn't have to use his credit card. He took the keys and searched for Nat in the parking lot. She was hiding between two old SUVs and he took her hand and led her to their room for the night.

The room didn't have a bathtub but it did have a shower and he told Natasha to take a hot one. "I'm..." She looked so terrified.

"I'm right outside the door, sweetheart. I'm not going anywhere." He told her softly and she nodded and went into the bathroom. She wasn't gone for long and came out of the bathroom only five minutes later wrapped in a towel. He was just glad that the motel was very clean for motel standards.

"Thank you, Steve." She whispered softly and he saw the bruises on her neck, chest area and arms. He took a deep breath trying to calm down. She didn't need him to freak out right now.

"You don't have to thank me. I love you. It's my job to..." _To protect you._ And he'd failed her terribly. He put the first aid kit he'd found in the bathroom on the bed. "Let me check your wounds."

She nodded and sat down on the bed. The gash on her temple wasn't as bad as he'd thought it was, it didn't look like it would need stitches. He gently pressed a band aid on her temple and then checked her feet. Scratches were on her soles and he had to pull a small piece of wood out of her heel and she hissed in pain. "Sorry." He mumbled and cleaned the wound.

" _I'm_ sorry I dragged you into this. I just wanted to hear your voice in case...In case I would.. die..." She looked so guilty and small that it broke his heart. He wrapped his arms around her pressing her against his chest and kissed the crown of her hair. "I was thinking about you and Wanda the entire time. Praying that I would see you again. And if was just for one last time."

Tears started to fall down his cheeks. "I was so fucking scared. I can't live without you, Nat. I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you. I'll do whatever I have to do to keep you safe." Nat looked up at him and she was crying as well. She wiped his tears away with her thumb and then kissed him. "I've never loved anyone the way I love you."

Natasha smiled softly and kissed him again. "I love you so much, Steve."

He pulled his wool sweater over his head and gave it to Natasha to keep her warm. He turned around to give her some privacy thinking that she didn't want him to see her naked after what had almost happened to her. Her small hand was on his upper arm and she turned him around. "It's okay. I trust you." She said with a small smile and let the towel drop to the floor. He couldn't help but stare at the hand shaped bruises on her waist and thigh. "Can you help me? I can't really move my left arm over my head." She asked quietly and he helped her get into his sweater. He only focused on her and what she needed so his rage wouldn't blind him. The last thing she needed right now was for him to lose his temper.

She put her yoga pants back on and they both crawled under the blankets of the bed. Natasha rolled onto her side and he spooned her trying to warm her. Her hands and feet were ice cold and he feared that she'd gotten hypothermia in those woods.

He pressed kisses into her hair and told her to try to get some sleep but he doubted that she would get any.

"I think he was a friend of Ward." She suddenly whispered into the darkness of the room. He'd shut the blinds so no one could look into their room. "He said he wanted me to suffer for what I did to Grant. Asked if I really thought they would let me live a happy life when I cost Hydra so much. I think he was supposed to bring me to their leader but then he decided..."

"You don't have to tell me." He pressed her closer against his chest.

"He said he wanted to find out why Ward married me. He untied me because he wanted me to _really participate_ and then I saw a crowbar next to me in the back of the van and I grabbed it and hit him with it in the head. I hit him again and then ran way. I saw the pay phone, found some coins on the ground and called you."

"I am so sorry this happened to you." He wanted to find this guy and kill him. And he would enjoy every minute of it. "Is this okay? Are you okay with me touching you?" He loosened his hold on her. The last thing he wanted to do was make her uncomfortable.

"Please don't let go of me. I know you'd never hurt me. I know you would never do something like that to me." She whispered and tugged on his arm. He wrapped his arm around her again and he felt her relax. "I need this. I need you. I was so scared and I've never felt so lonely before."

"I'm not leaving you, Nat. Never. M'gonna make you sick of me."

He thought it was the exhaustion because Natasha did fall asleep after all. He hoped she had a dreamless sleep and no nightmares. He stayed awake jumping at every noise outside and thinking about what to do next. All he knew was that he would do anything to protect her.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter XIII

Natasha woke up with a gasp and Steve pressed her closer to him to let her know that she wasn't alone. "I'm here, Nat. You're safe."

She nodded and tugged his arm against her chest. "What are we gonna do?"

"You should eat something." He let reluctantly go of her and they both sat up against the headboard. "I think I saw a vending machine outside. Maybe it has granola bars or something. Stay inside while I get you something."

He turned the lights on and he almost gasped when he looked at her. Her face was so pale and her temple bruised. And she looked so tired. And terrified. "I'm not hungry. Please don't go."

"You have to eat something, sweetheart. I'll be back in a sec. Look the door behind me and only open when you hear my voice, okay?"

She still looked scared but she nodded. "Okay. Please hurry!"

He hated Hydra for scaring her so much. He barely recognized Natasha right now. Nothing reminded him of the confident woman he'd fallen in love with. How dangerous was Hydra when they could scare her _that_ much? And what did they want with her now? Revenge? Why now? Over a decade later? He got out of bed, Natasha right behind him and opened the door a bit to check the area. Everything was clear and he stepped outside. He nodded at Nat and she closed the door behind him and he heard how she locked it.

He walked to the vending machine and got granola bars, chips and coca cola for Natasha. He kept looking around but he seemed to be the only one outside right now. How could they get the intel to Clint that there was a mole on his team? Should he just text him? Or call him? They had no other ways of contacting him right now. And how far did Hydra's reach go? Would Nat be safe if the mole and her attacker were arrested? Would she have to hide? Move away? Leave New York? Could he go with her? But he couldn't just move with Wanda to another state. Her friends and family lived here. Was Wanda in danger too? Did Hydra know about them? God, what was he supposed to do?

Natasha seemed calmer when he came back into the motel room. Maybe _too_ calm. She took a granola bar, unwrapped it and ate it. "Thank you. Thank you for everything, Steve."

"You don't have to thank me." He opened the coke bottle and handed it to her.

"Yes, I do. Thank you, but you should go now." She said calmly.

" _What_? No!"

"Yes, you have to. You're going back to Brooklyn. Back to Wanda. She needs her father." She gave him a little smile but it didn't reach her eyes. "I know that you love her more than anything. That's one of the reasons why I fell for you. She needs you. You have to go back to protect her."

"And what about you, Nat? No, I'm not going anywhere without you."

"Yes, you are. You're driving back home." She said in a voice that didn't allow any objection. Why was she doing this?

"Natasha, no! I'm your boyfriend and I-"

She shook her head. "No, not anymore. I can't ask you to do this. I was scared and selfish before. I should have never called you. You have a child! I should have never started something with you. I should have known that Hydra would come back once I was truly happy. It's _over_ , Steve. It has to be. I'm letting you go. You have no obligations towards me anymore. Thank you for helping me." Her eyes were glassy and he felt like someone punched him in the gut. "You're a good man, Steve. Now go home to your daughter and be a good dad for her. She's a great kid."

"No! I know what you're doing and it's not working." He crossed his arms over his chest. She was trying to protect him. It was noble of her but he wouldn't let her do it.

She shook her head. "Steve, they probably know about you and Wanda. What if they take Wanda once they realize that you're with me! You have to go back! For Wanda!"

He knew that she had a point but he couldn't just leave her. "Bucky is with her-"

"She's scared and confused, and she needs her father. You have to go back. Don't worry about me. I'll contact Nick and he'll come."

"Then I wait until he's here."

"No. You are leaving right now."

"I can't."

"Yes, you can. For Wanda!" She said and tossed him his leather jacket.

He threw the jacket over the armchair in the corner of the room and went to take her hand but she pulled away before he reached it. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Natasha, let's sit down for a moment. Please!"

She closed her eyes for a moment like she was weighing her options and then nodded. "Okay, fine." She said sitting down on the end of the bed. He sat down beside her leaving enough space between them. He didn't want to crowd her.

"I know why you're trying to send me away. And it simultaneously makes me furious and love you even more." He gave her a boyish grin to lighten the mood but it didn't seem to work. Natasha looked so...she looked so _guilty_. "I am not leaving you alone right now. Not with some asshole out there looking for you. And Wanda would _never_ forgive me if anything happened to you, sweetheart. I think she's already planning our wedding."

She did laugh this time but he could see the tears in her eyes. "I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you or _Wanda_ because of me. Hydra..They're ruthless. The things I found out about Ward...The things he did for them..." She shuddered. "I'm just trying to do the right thing here. I'm sorry I broke up with you."

He took her hand and laced their fingers together. "Already forgotten. You're stuck with me."

She nodded, looking at their hands. "We should call Fury. He can get the message to Clint and he can send someone to protect your family. But I meant what I said. You can leave after Fury comes to pick me up. I won't be mad."

He clenched his jaw. He did want to see Wanda. She had to be so confused and scared right now with his mother and Bucky not really knowing what was going on. But he also couldn't leave Natasha alone. Not even with Fury. Maybe it was silly but he felt like _he_ should be the one protecting her. He didn't want to choose between Wanda and Natasha. But his little girl was probably so terrified by everything that had happened...

"It's okay. I understand." Natasha said with a soft smile. "Wanda comes first. As it should. One of the reason I love you so much is because you're such a great father."

"Nat..." He breathed out. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You came when I called you. You held me in your arms so I could get some sleep. You calmed me down. You were there when I needed you, Steve." She leaned over and kissed him softly. He'd never felt so torn before. He knew he had to go back to Wanda and he wanted to, he wanted to comfort and protect her; but he also wanted to stay here with Nat. She needed him, too. "You made me feel safe again. Helped me to clear my head."

"I love you." He whispered fiercely and he kissed her with everything he had. "I love you."

"And I love you." She kissed the corner of his mouth and pulled away. "I think it's time to call Nick."

"Do you have his number on you?"

Natasha chuckled. "He made me memorize it. Said we young people rely on our cell phones too much." Her face fell. "Steve, your phone! Did you turn it off?!"

"The battery died shortly after I texted my mom."

"Okay. I don't think Hydra can trace it then." She looked visibly relieved. "I think I saw a pay phone when I was hiding in the parking lot. Do you have coins?"

"I think so. One sec." He stood up to get his leather jacket. He checked the pockets and found a few quarters. "That enough?"

"It has to be. It's not like Fury is very talkative. I'll be right back."

"I'm coming with you!" He said, blocking the door. It was already bad enough that he would leave her soon but he wouldn't let her out of his sight for now. Right now he could still protect her. She looked ready to argue and he was almost relieved by that. His confident and independent Natasha was coming back. She would get through this.

"Fine."

He checked the area and they walked together to the pay phone not far away from the motel. It was still early in the morning and the other guests seemed to be still asleep.

Natasha picked up the receiver and dialed Fury's number. "It's me." She said only seconds later. "I'm okay. Steve's with me." She was listening to whatever Fury was telling her. She moved the receiver away from her face. "Fury sent a CIA agent to Bucky's place. Hill is good at her job. She'll protect them."

He sighed in relief. "Oh thank God! Please thank Fury from me!"

She nodded and moved the receiver back to her lips. "Steve says- Yes, he'll do that. When will you be there? No, don't tell him... There is a mole on his team... No, I don't know who... No, he's going back to Brooklyn. Only one ticket is needed."

His ears perked up. _Ticket?_ Natasha hung up. "There's an old diner a few miles from here. He'll meet us there. He says we can't miss it if we drive the 95 up north."

"You said something about a ticket."

She looked briefly away. "Nick thinks it's best if I leave the country for a while. He has reason to believe that Hydra wants to get me because they lost a lot of influence and men because of what I found in Ward's stuff back then. They want revenge and to find out if I know more."

"Do you?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Where are you going? And for how long?"

"I don't know."

God, he didn't want to think about that. He couldn't bear the thought that he wouldn't see her for an undefined amount of time. No, he had to focus on getting Nat safely to that diner and to Fury.

They went back to the motel room to get the rest of their stuff and he pulled off his socks to give them to Nat. His shoes were too big for her feet and there was no way to get anything else for her right now.

He drove back on the highway with Natasha's arms wrapped tightly around him. He couldn't think about the fact that he had to say goodbye to her soon. When would he see her again? Would she ever be safe again? How was he supposed to explain to Wanda that Natasha wouldn't celebrate Christmas with them? He hated Hydra for tearing their little family apart. Because that was what they were - a _family_. And he could see it so clearly now - their whole life together. Their wedding, Natasha adopting Wanda, them buying a house. Maybe even another child. Maybe they would adopt or maybe Natasha would get pregnant. Or maybe even both. He wanted that, he wanted all of it and fucking Hydra was putting that in jeopardy.

Natasha's hold tightened and he wondered if she could sense what was going on in him. Or maybe she didn't want to let go of him because she was scared as well.

They spotted the diner a few miles later. It was vacant for which he was glad. He didn't think he would have had the nerve to be around people right now but he would have loved to get a warm meal into Natasha's stomach.

"It doesn't look like Nick's here yet." Natasha said when he helped her get off his bike. They both knew that she was now more than capable of doing it herself again but he had to touch her. Had to keep her close before she would leave. He pulled his helmet off her head and cupped her face. Natasha closed her eyes and a tear rolled down her cheek. "I don't want to leave but I know it's the right thing to do. I'll miss you so much."

"I'll miss you, too. And I'll wait for you. Wanda and I will both wait for you."

She nodded. "Please give her a kiss from me and tell her that I love her. And that I wouldn't have left if I had another choice."

He kissed her deeply and Natasha dug her nails onto his back, clutching onto him. "I love you, Tasha." God, he loved her so damn much. Why was this happening to them?

She rubbed her nose against his and kissed him again. "I love you." They heard a car rolling up and they pulled away. "That's Nick." She pecked his lips again. "I'll be thinking about you two the entire time." She smiled at him sadly and then turned to look at the road. Her grip on his arms tightened so much that it almost hurt. "That's not Nick!" She whispered. "That's the van-"

He heard a gun shot and he quickly pushed Natasha behind him. He saw out of the corner of his eye that his Harley had now a flat tire. Fuck! They didn't want them to run. That was definitely not Fury! "Stay behind me, Nat!" Fuck, he had no gun. He had nothing! He had to get close to them enough to fight them to get a weapon. Adrenalin was cursing through his veins and he felt like he was back on a battle field. He was aware of the fact that he would most likely have to kill. But he didn't have a problem with that. Not when it meant protecting Natasha's life.

The door opened and a man was getting out of the van. It looked like he was alone. The parking lot was barely lit but he could see the man pretty well. He'd seen that face before...God, that was the guy from the supermarket!

"Aren't you two the cutest couple? I've been driving around looking for you, Red, and here you are!" He said with a grin, his gun raised at them. "Are you really willing to play hero, Rogers? For that whore?"

"Don't call her that!" He spit out. He was the one who'd attacked Natasha in her own home. The one who'd hurt her, the who'd tried to...He was going to kill that scumbag!

"I hope you got to fuck her one last time. You know, going out with a _bang_!" He laughed at his own tasteless joke and Steve had never felt so much rage before in his life. "I tried to, but then that bitch hit me with a crowbar! Well, maybe I get my turn now. Ward had always been raving about her skills in the bedroom. _Rumlow, she can give head like no other girl!_ he used to say."

That was it! Steve rushed towards the asshole and managed to surprise him. A shot was fired but Steve pushed his arm up and all what _Rumlow_ shot was the sky. He kneed him in the stomach while shoving the gun out of his hand and punched him in the face. All he could think about was killing that asshole. He had to kill him so he wouldn't get his filthy hands on Natasha.

Rumlow managed to punch him in the face and he stumbled back. He had to find the gun before Rumlow did! He kicked Rumlow in the stomach when he tried to attack him and he stumbled to the ground.

"Don't move!" Natasha yelled and he turned to look at her and saw that she had the gun in her hands. "I swear I will shoot you, asshole!" She came closer to Rumlow.

"Do you even know how to use that?"

"I shot your buddy Ward, remember?" She spit back. Rumlow crashed forward and tackled Natasha to the ground, her head smacking with a loud sound on the pavement, the gun sliding over the sandy ground. He pulled Rumlow off Natasha and started to beat the shit out of him. He didn't care if he had to beat him to death as long as that asshole would die.

Rumlow threw something that felt like pebbles into his face and he couldn't really see. He just felt a foot against his chest and he hit the side of the van with his back. His back hurt but he had to get up for Nat. Was she unconscious from hitting her head on the pavement?

He blinked his eyes a few times to clear his vision and saw Rumlow pointing the gun at him. _Shit_.

And then, much to his horror, two things happened at the same time - Natasha was suddenly standing in front of him and he heard a _gunshot_.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter XIV

The nurse was examining him and Steve knew that she was just doing her job but he just wanted to get out of this treatment room. Like right now!

Fury walked into the room and looked at the nurse. "And?"

"He's okay. A few bruises on his back but nothing serious."

Fury nodded. "Good. You can leave now." He told the nurse who raised an eyebrow at his bluntness but she did as she was told. "Barton's on his way to get your statement. And Hill is bringing your daughter."

"Thank you." He couldn't wait to see Wanda again. He couldn't even imagine how confused and scared she had been since he'd dropped her at off at May's. Fury motioned for him to follow him. They stepped out of the treatment room and walked down the corridor of the hospital they were currently at.

"How's Nat?"

"She has a concussion and a light hypothermia. But besides that she's fine." Fury answered and Steve sighed in relief.

"Thank you again for...well, for saving our lives! For saving her life!"

Fury chuckled. "Ivan would haunt my ass for eternity if I hadn't saved his daughter. And I can't say that I didn't enjoy shooting that bastard. We had no idea that Rumlow was even in Manhattan. That bastard was pretty smart."

"You know who the mole is?"

"I have an idea about that. Don't worry, Barton and I will deal with that."

"Is Natasha safe now?" He asked the most important question on his mind since this nightmare seemed to be over. Fury had taken them to a hospital in Jersey after he'd miraculously showed up and shot Rumlow before he could pull the trigger and shoot Natasha. Steve had thought for a second that Natasha had been shot but then Rumlow dropped to the ground revealing Fury standing behind him.

"I can't guarantee it 100 percent but it looks like it. Rumlow had a phone on him and it looks like he worked alone. And we found some evidence that could lead us to Hydra's leader. Turns out that motherfucker wasn't _that_ smart after all."

"So you're letting her stay then?"

Fury laughed. "As if someone could make Natalia do anything she doesn't want to." He had a point there. "You know, Ivan and Ekaterina were always worried about Natasha. About her future. They hoped that she would have a better life one day. That she would find a good man. Looks like she has now."

He didn't know what to say but he felt honored that Fury seemed to think that Natasha's parents would approve of them. The metallic swing door in front of them opened and Wanda was running towards him.

"Daddy!" God, she was okay and she was here! He knelt down and picked her up. She buried her face into the crook of his neck.

"I'm okay, sweetie. Everything's okay." He murmured and rubbed his hand over her back.

She looked at him with big eyes. "Is Nata okay?"

"Yes, she is." He assured her and kissed her forehead. "I think we can see her soon."

"Her room is on the 12th floor." Fury said and Wanda turned to look at him.

"Are you a pirate?!" She asked with a gasp.

He wanted to tell her that she couldn't just ask people that just because someone had an eye patch but Fury just chuckled. "Something like that. And you're Wanda?"

She nodded shyly and held onto Steve stronger. "Yes. And you are?"

"I'm Nick." He smiled kindly. "I'm an old friend of Natasha. You actually remind me of her. She had been a little whirlwind too when she was your age."

"You knew Nata as a kid?"

"Yes. Smartest and sassiest child I've ever met. Always knew the little one would make it one day. Take good care of her for me, Wanda. Okay?"

Wanda nodded seriously and Fury left with a nod. Steve saw his mother standing in the doorway of the swing door throwing Fury a wary look as he passed her. She spotted him and quickly walked over to him and Wanda. "Steve! I was worried sick!"

"I'm sorry, ma!" He mumbled while she went in for a hug. "But we're okay now."

"Your neighbor said something about the hospital when I picked Wanda up and James didn't know anything either. Your phone went straight to voice mail! I was worried sick and then this agent shows up! What on earth happened?"

He didn't want to tell her everything with Wanda in his arms. "Natasha was in danger. Someone tried to hurt her but she's safe now."

"Oh God! The poor thing!" His mother gasped. "Where is she?"

"Floor 12." Wanda answered. "Can we visit Nata now? I wanna see my mommy!"

He almost dropped Wanda in that moment and the look on his mother was a mix between shock and joy. She was probably clapping herself on the shoulder because it looked she'd finally found a mother for Wanda.

* * *

Natasha was lying in her hospital bed, looking a bit exhausted and pale, but she was smiling brightly when he walked with Wanda into her hospital room. Wanda let immediately go off his hand and ran over to Natasha's bed. He tried to stop her but she was so damn fast sometimes!

"Nata!" She squealed and climbed onto the bed.

"Hey, honey. I missed you." She pulled Wanda into her arms and kissed the top of her head.

"Be careful of her IV, Wanda!" He warned his daughter and walked over to Nat's bed and kissed her softly on the lips. "Hi."

She smiled and took his hand while he dragged the chair over with his other one to sit next to her bed. "How are you?"

"My head hurts but I'm fine. What about you?"

"I'm fine. My mother is here as well. I think she's trying to track down Fury to get more information." He chuckled lightly. Natasha gave him a tired smile and Wanda snuggled closer to her.

"I was so scared, mommy! Are you okay now? When are you coming home?" He didn't think that Wanda actually realized that she'd called Natasha _mommy_ and Natasha seemed to be too exhausted to notice it. How was he supposed to handle Wanda calling Natasha her mother? Was it too soon? Inappropriate? He had no fucking clue!

"Soon, sweetie. I should get discharged later today."

Both his girls fell soon asleep and he quickly left to call his work and Wanda's school to tell them that they wouldn't come in today and the community center to tell them that Natasha's class was cancelled for today. He almost forgot but then he did remember to call Pepper to tell her that Natasha wouldn't come to work for a few days. She sounded worried and made him promise her to call her if they needed anything. He wondered if Clint or anyone else had already called her.

He found them still asleep when he came back and sat down on his chair watching over them.

* * *

Wanda practically demanded that Natasha _had_ to stay with them after she was discharged from the hospital. Pepper called to tell Nat that she could take as much time off as she needed and his boss Phil had been so kind to give him a few days off as well. Wanda wanted to stay at home too but he wouldn't have any of it. A child needed a routine and the last 12 hours had already been crazy enough. No, she would go back to school tomorrow.

His mother offered to get a few more things from Natasha's apartment (apparently the door had already been fixed) and would drop them off tonight. Clint drove them back to Brooklyn handing them a muffin basket from Laura before he left. Natasha kissed his cheek and told him that none of it had been his fault. Clint didn't look convinced but nodded.

"Do you wanna watch Christmas movies?" Wanda asked, holding Natasha's hand while they walked up the stairs to their apartment.

Natasha smiled. "That sounds lovely, Wanda. I'm gonna take a shower first if that's okay."

"And then we're all gonna cuddle on our couch!" Wanda decided and he smiled to himself.

Natasha left to take a shower once they were inside the apartment and he decided to just order pizza. It was late afternoon and he was in no mood for cooking. He heard Wanda in the living room while he called the pizza place. He quickly sent Bucky a text trying to explain everything as best as he could and thanking him for looking after his daughter and mother.

Wanda had dragged her starry night light into the living room and turned all other lights off when he came into the living room.

"It's very cozy." He heard Natasha say behind him. He turned around and saw her wearing one of his t-shirts and her own pajama pants. Her hair was still slightly wet and she was smiling at Wanda.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it!"

Wanda beamed and turned on the TV. Natasha sat down on the couch and opened her arms for Wanda who immediately climbed into her lap. God, he couldn't believe that she was safe now. He looked at his girls and last night felt like a feverish nightmare. They were all here and safe. _His two girls were safe_.

They were halfway through a Netflix Christmas movie when the pizza arrived, and done with movie and pizza when his mother dropped Natasha's things off. He expected her to want to stay for a while but she just gave him a content smile and told him to call if they needed anything before she left.

They watched another movie before it was time for bed. They were tired and decided to all sleep in his bed. Natasha helped Wanda get ready for bed while he locked the front door and turned the lights off.

Natasha and Wanda were already half asleep when he came into the bedroom. Wanda was lying with her head on Natasha's chest and Natasha's arms were loosely wrapped around his daughter. He got under the sheets and slung his arm over Wanda and Natasha.

He pressed a kiss to Nat's temple. "Goodnight, you two."

"Goodnight." Natasha murmured sleepily while Wanda just snuggled closer to her. He hadn't dared to hope that three of them would be so soon reunited again and he was just grateful. They were all together again and safe. He loved them both so much.

Wanda buried her face in the crook of Nat's neck. "Night, mommy." She mumbled into her neck but Natasha seemed to be already sleeping. He would have to talk to Nat about Wanda unconsciously calling her mommy when Wanda was at school. And he had to talk about it with Wanda but he didn't have the heart to tell her that she couldn't call Nat that, so he hoped Natasha was okay with it because he realized that _he_ was okay with it. More than okay as crazy as it seemed.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter XV

He waited the whole time while Wanda was getting ready for school and during breakfast for it but she didn't call Nat mommy again. Had she only done it yesterday because she had been glad that Natasha was with them again? He had no idea and Natasha didn't seem to remember that Wanda had called her mommy.

He told Nat to go back to bed while he would walk Wanda to school. She gave Wanda a kiss on the cheek before they left the apartment.

"Was Nata in danger? Did you protect her?" Wanda asked while they walked down their street.

He was going to tell her as much as he could without scaring her. "Someone was after her but he can never hurt her again, munchkin. He broke into her apartment and kidnapped her but she could free herself and I came to pick her up but that bad man found us. Remember Nick?" Wanda nodded. "He saved us."

"Is he dead? The bad man?"

Should he lie? But Wanda would probably feel better if she knew for sure that he wouldn't come back. "Yes. He can never hurt Natasha again."

"Good."

"Sweetie? Remember what you called Natasha yesterday?"

Wanda stopped walking and looked to the ground. "Yeah. I know she's not my mommy but...She is...to _me!_ And I was sooo happy that she was okay! Because you were so scared when she'd called. I knew something was very wrong, daddy." She looked up at him. "I want her to be my mommy. Can't you marry her? You love her, why aren't you married?"

He knelt down and placed his hands on her shoulders gently. "Yes, I love Natasha. But it's too soon to get married. We've only been together for a few months. We're still getting to know each other. And I know that you love her, Wanda. And she loves you, too. But these things they take time. You will understand that better when you're older."

He hated it that she looked so sad but he couldn't just propose. He wasn't ready and he was pretty sure Natasha wasn't either. Did she even want to get married again? "Give it time, sweetie. Natasha is part of our lives and _family_ and I think she will be for a very long time."

"Okay." She nodded. "Okay. Can we go ice skating with her this weekend?"

"Yes." He smiled. It always amazed him how easy kids could change the subject. "I'm sure she'll love to."

He walked Wanda to school and picked up a few things at the grocery store before he got home. Natasha was still sleeping when he checked on her, and he left the bedroom packing the groceries away and cleaning the kitchen a bit.

"Hey."

He turned around and Natasha was standing in the doorway. "Hi, sweetheart. Had a good sleep?"

"Yeah. No nightmares." She walked over and wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you for everything."

"You don't have to thank me. Not for this. I'll always look after you." He kissed the crown of her hair. She looked up at him with a soft smile on her face and he noticed that the bruise on her temple was fading. And her dark circles were almost gone. Soon it would look like nothing bad at ever happened to her.

"You wanna go ice skating this weekend?"

"Wanda's idea?" She asked with a knowing grin and he nodded. "Of course. I know a few moves."

He smiled and kissed her forehead. "So, there's something I wanna talk to you about."

"Okay?" She sat down at the kitchen table. "Tell me. I'm all ears."

He sighed and sat down as well. "Wanda called you mommy yesterday. Three times."

"Oh. I thought I dreamed that." She looked like she didn't know who to react. Hell, he didn't really either.

"Does it bother you that she did?"

Natasha was silent for a moment. "No, not really. You? I mean she's _your_ daughter and-"

"No, it doesn't bother me." He interrupted her quickly. "Maybe it should, but it doesn't. I know we're not there yet really, but I just...I don't know... it didn't feel wrong when I heard it coming out of her mouth. We both know that she wants you to be her mother."

"And what about you, Steve?" She asked quietly. "I know this is happening probably way too fast, but I feel like...like I finally have a family of my own. I know that Laura and Clint consider me family but it's still _them_ and _me_ , and with you...It's different...I don't know the first thing about motherhood..."

"Wanda seems to think you're good at it. I always thought that I would be enough for Wanda and that might be true but I can also see the changes in her. How happy she is since you're in her life, how much she looks up to you. And I...God, I'm so in love with you, it's ridiculous. You and Wanda are my everything."

Natasha stood up and planted herself on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she kissed him. "I love you, too. We'll figure it out, Steve. _Together_. You, me and Wanda. What family is _normal_ these days?" She laughed a little. "I don't think we're doing anything wrong as long as Wanda is happy and loved."

He nodded and kissed her softly. "You're perfect, you know that?" She chuckled and ran her fingers through his beard looking at him with eyes that were full of love and affection for him. "Um...there's something else I wanted to ask you. I wanted to know." That question was running through his head ever since his talk with Wanda.

"Yes?" She asked softly and pressed light kisses on his cheek and temple. "You can ask me anything, honey."

He shivered at the soft and loving sound of her voice. She'd never called him that before. "Do you ever want to get married again?" He blurted out. "I mean one day? Or is that for you off the table since..."

"I didn't." She answered and he knew that he looked disappointed. He really would have loved to call her _his_ _wife_ one day. "But then I fell in love with you. And I realized that relationships can be loving and healthy. I would only say yes to _you_ , Steve." She smiled and he was probably grinning like a fool. "One day?"

He nodded and kissed her. "One day."

* * *

The days until Christmas were wonderful. Natasha kept staying at their place and only went back when she needed stuff. It was unsaid between them but he knew that she didn't want to stay at her place because it could trigger bad memories. He didn't mind her staying and Wanda was practically over the moon that Natasha was there every night to tuck her in and every morning to help her get ready for school.

The three of them spent the afternoon in Manhattan and went to Nat's place to get a few more things, he was pretty sure he'd spotted a few wrapped presents in her bag, when Wanda suddenly came out of Nat's closet with a Chanel bag on her shoulder. Steve didn't knew much about fashion but he knew that those bags were pretty expensive.

He wanted to tell her that she had to put it back and couldn't just take it out of Nat's closet but Natasha was faster when she saw Wanda with the bag. "You have excellent taste, Wanda." She smiled and sat down on her bed and patted the spot next to her. "I bought this bag in Paris."

Wanda jumped on the bed, her eyes big. "You were in Paris?"

"Oui. I spent one semester there and then after I started working for your Auntie Pepper I saved enough money to go back to Paris. I had a wonderful time there and bought this bag as a reminder." She laughed. "I had to live on Ramen the next months because I spent so much money." She took the bag from Wanda and opened it. "See this little compartment here?" Wanda nodded. "You're supposed to hide love letters there."

"Has daddy written you any?"

"No." She answered with a laugh.

"Daddy!" Wanda exclaimed and looked at him with a frown. "You have to write love letters for your love! Everyone knows that!"

"Um..." He was pretty sure his cheeks were pink. He just wasn't good with words!

"Uh, I know!" Wanda said with a grin and ran out of the bedroom. Natasha shot him a questioning glance and he just shrugged his shoulders. He had no idea what the little munchkin was up to now.

"I'm sorry that I'm not writing you love letters, Nat." He said sheepishly and sat down beside her.

She shook her head in amusement. "That's okay. I don't need any sonnets to know that you love me."

They traded sweet and innocent kisses (Wanda had almost walked in on them two nights ago and now they were very careful with what kind of PDA she saw from them) until Wanda stormed back into the room. "Here!" She almost screamed and held the napkin with the ballerina sketch he'd drawn for Nat at Tony's party. How did Wanda know that it was from him? Did Natasha tell her? "You have to put that drawing in there!"

"You're right." Natasha said with a smile and opened the zipper of the compartment and put the napkin inside. Wanda beamed happily when Natasha kissed her cheek and suggested to her that she should carry the bag back to Brooklyn.

He didn't realize how _fucking_ expensive the bag truly was until his mother came over for dinner and couldn't stop gushing over the bag when she spotted it on the dresser in the hallway. How expensive were Natasha's clothes in general? He knew she made good money and always looked impeccable but he'd never thought about how much her clothes were. Her lingerie was always _very_ nice and he didn't think she'd bought it at Target. Probably a lot and she just let Wanda play dress up with her fancy clothes? Maybe it was just superficial but it warmed his heart that Natasha trusted Wanda enough to let her play with her designer clothes.

He walked his mother to the door while Natasha was helping Wanda taking a bath. "This...You and Natasha." She smiled. "You two are meant for each other. And I can tell that you two can't keep your hands off each other."

"Ma..." He blushed. _Oh God!_ It was already worse enough that Wanda had recently stumbled into the living room late at night and had thankfully been too tired to notice that Natasha had been naked on their couch before she quickly pulled a blanket over her. He had no idea how he would have have explained to Wanda why he had been with his head between Natasha's naked thighs. But thankfully Wanda had been very sleepy and only wanted something to drink and pretty much fallen asleep again before he'd brought her back to bed. He and Natasha had been too flustered to continue and just gone to bed.

She laughed. "Don't be such a prude! I'm happy for you two. I really am." She cupped his cheek briefly. "I think you found the _one._ "

"Yeah, I think so, too."

They smiled at each other and he kissed her cheek before she left. Natasha was still with Wanda in the bathroom and he heard laughter and giggling. Wanda came twenty minutes later in the living room in her penguin PJs with her long hair in a top knot.

"Nata let me use her hair mask and she said I'll have pretty waves tomorrow from the bun!" She told him excitedly.

Natasha walked into the room and stopped behind Wanda. He didn't know what it was but they really looked like mother and daughter in that moment. "You wanna start the last Pippi Longstocking book, _smerch?"_

Wanda nodded and the two left the living room after he promised to kiss her goodnight. He found Natasha putting the book on the bedside table and kissing Wanda's forehead when he came into her room.

"Night, mommy." She mumbled sleepily, her eyes already closed. Wanda developed the habit of calling Natasha _mommy_ when she was sleepy or sick. She'd had a fever last weekend and crawled into their bed murmuring that she wanted to be with mommy and daddy before she fell asleep again.

"Goodnight, my little sunshine." She murmured softly and kissed her forehead again. She returned his smile when she turned around. He walked over and kissed Wanda's cheek and brushed a strain of hair that fell out of her bun out of her face.

"Night, Wanda."

"Mhm."

He chuckled and left with Natasha's hand in his own her room.

* * *

Christmas came as quickly as it went by. They spent Christmas Eve at the Barton's and Wanda and Lila became best friends the moment they realized that they loved dinosaurs and both agreed that Natasha was the coolest person they knew. And Steve had the little suspicion that Wanda developed a tiny crush on Cooper judging by the way she blushed every time Cooper talked to her.

Wanda came squealing into their bedroom on Christmas morning that Santa had been here and that they had _the heck_ to get up. Natasha made hot chocolate and they watched Wanda ripping through her presents. And then she almost fainted when Natasha gifted her a lighter version of her own perfume (he was pretty sure that it was specially made for Wanda) and riding lessons. He got a leather bound sketchbook with his initials embroidered on it from his girl. Wanda had given them mugs that she'd drawn on with his mother's help and he didn't think Natasha missed how they looked like mugs for newlyweds. And Natasha looked pretty happy when he handed her a golden necklace with an N made out of small sapphires (Wanda's birthstone) on the pendant while Wanda seemed a bit disappointed that it was no diamond ring.

They spent the rest of the day at his mother's house with Bucky and his family coming over for dinner. His mother was throwing not so subtle hints that Winter was a wonderful time to get married. He was starting to think that the mugs had been her idea. Natasha gave his mother a beautiful scarf and his ma invited her to the yearly Rogers family weekend in the Hamptons that not even Bucky had ever been invited to. Yes, his mother definitely wanted them to get married.

He watched Natasha and Wanda walking in front of him and holding hands on their way home. Wanda was asking all kinds of questions about ponies and Natasha tried to answer them as best as she could. They went to watch the Nutcracker on Boxing Day and he filmed Natasha teaching Wanda a few moves later at home and pretty much sent it to everyone in his contact list.

Two days later Natasha shoved the NYT over the kitchen table to him with the headline _Senator Alexander Pierce dead._ That was sad but he didn't really understand why Natasha wanted him to know that. He wasn't even their senator.

"He was the leader." She whispered because Wanda was sitting at the breakfast table shoving her oatmeal into her little face. "Nick texted me last night."

"It's over?" She nodded and he took a deep breath. _Thank God!_

Even though his mother offered to watch Wanda, neither he or Natasha were in the mood for Tony's New Year's party and decided to stay home. They watched movies and played games and watched the ball drop on TV. Wanda squealed happily when he kissed Natasha at midnight and then they both went to kiss her cheeks at the same time.

Later that night, Natasha was lying half on top of him drawing circles on his naked chest while he ran his hand over her sweaty back.

"Happy New Year." He whispered and she grinned up at him.

"Happy New Year and thank you for the _fireworks!_ " Her lips curled into a smirk and he tried his best not to blush. She laughed and pressed a kiss over his heart.

"You have any resolutions?" He asked her. "I do."

"And?"

"Well..." He took a deep breath hoping that Natasha would like his idea. "I was thinking about going house hunting this year. A nice brownstone house with a small garden sounds lovely, doesn't it?"

"Um, yes?" Natasha looked at him with wide eyes. "Isn't that a bit too big for you and Wanda?"

"Well, I mean we would need enough space for me and Wanda and then that giant closet of yours and of course, _you_." He said with a dopey grin praying that for _once_ in his life he was smooth.

Her eyes somehow grew even wider. "What?" She breathed. "You want to...You want to buy a _house_ with me?"

"Yeah! Look, you're here all the time anyway and I don't want you to live alone in that apartment of yours. I know you don't feel safe there anymore and I think that we should move in together and my apartment is too small in the long run. So what do you say? You wanna live with me and Wanda? Be a real family?" He asked carefully. God, what if she didn't want that yet? Things would get real awkward.

"Yes, let's buy a house together!" She practically beamed and kissed him.


	16. Chapter 16

_This chapter is in Wanda's POV_

* * *

Chapter XVI

Nata was now pretty much living with them and Wanda loved it! She was there every night to tuck her in and every morning to do her hair and help her pick an outfit! And so many girls at school had complimented her look! Even Peter's super cool friend MJ who sometimes picked Peter up for school had said that she looked awesome when she and daddy ran into her downstairs. Sharon always made a face when she saw them with Nata but mommy was too cool to care about that. Buckybear had explained to her that Sharon probably had a crush on daddy and was jealous. Wanda was just happy that daddy fell in love with Nata and not that stupid Sharon.

And she was pretty sure that her parents were looking for a house! She'd seen flyers on daddy's desk and she'd heard Nata and Lila's mom talking about houses! Living in a house had to be awesome! Maybe they would have a garden like Granny! They could get a puppy! Or a kitty! A puppy _and_ a kitty!

Lila thought it was gross when her parents kissed and cuddled but Wanda thought it was just cute when daddy and Nata kissed. The three of them always cuddled on the couch before she had to go to bed and Nata let her help her get ready for dates with daddy! She always asked for her opinion on what to wear and how to do her make up. Sometimes Buckybear came over to watch her but mostly Peter was her sitter when daddy and mommy went on dates. He was so cool and didn't treat her like a baby! She'd repeatedly offered him to help him with MJ but he said no! She knew that he was in love with her and she'd gotten her daddy and Nata together! Why didn't he want her help?! She was soo good at that!

Even though Nata spent every night at their place, she still had her fancy apartment in Manhattan and sometimes went there to get stuff. And mommy always asked her if she wanted to come with and let her explore her closet! She had so many clothes! And she always let her try her clothes on! It always made so much fun!

Nata and daddy were now together for six months and wasn't that long enough to get married? They'd gone to the Hamptons to celebrate and she kinda of hoped that daddy would propose to mommy but daddy hadn't asked her to help him pick out a diamond ring yet and she was pretty sure that he would need help with that! Auntie Pepper always said that men have no taste and Auntie Pepper was a CEO! Whatever that was. But she was the boss of Uncle Tony and he always said that Auntie Pepper was right. And she didn't get why Nata and daddy had mostly stayed in their hotel room and why Buckybear and Uncle Sammy had grinned when daddy had said that they hadn't seen much of the Hamptons. Why did they even go if they stayed inside the whole time?! Adults were weird!

But daddy and Nata had gone out with her as well to celebrate the anniversary! They'd gone to a nice restaurant where they'd had to dress up for! Wanda'd felt so fancy going out with her parents and daddy'd pulled out their chairs and she'd been allowed to stay up longer because they'd seen Mary Poppins on Broadway!

* * *

She _knew_ that she had been right about the house! Daddy had picked her up from school and told her that they would meet mommy to check out a house!

"You're okay with us moving in with Natasha, right?" Daddy asked her while they walked to the house. He'd already explained to her that Nata would be living with them after New Years and she had been so happy!

"Yes! Does that mean you're getting married?"

Daddy laughed. "I know it might not look like that to you, but buying a house is a pretty big step, sweetie!"

"But you want to marry her, right?"

"One day, yes! But right now we're focusing on finding the perfect house for the three of us." Daddy said and she was a bit disappointed. She was already waiting for them _so long_ to get married! At least seven months because their anniversary had been last month and seven months was an eternity!

Nata and some lady who would show them the house were already waiting for them. Mommy knelt down to hug her and as always Wanda buried her face in her neck. Nata had given her a bottle of her perfume but she was only allowed to wear it on special occasions.

"Hi, sweetie." Nata smiled and cupped her cheek briefly. "How was your day?"

"Good." _Mommy_. "It was good, Nata." She called Nata mommy in her head most of the time but she'd learned to keep it to herself.

"Glad to hear it." Nata smiled and stood up to say hello to daddy. She ran her hand through daddy's beard and kissed him on the lips. Daddy smiled happily and briefly stroked her cheek.

"Hi, sweetheart." He said in the voice he only used on Nata and she smiled brightly. Granny had said that it was rare that two people fell that deeply in love with each other. She was just glad that daddy was happy and that Nata was her mommy, no matter what that anyone else said!

"Hey, handsome." Mommy replied and the lady let them in and told them to take as long as they needed. Nata took her hand and they followed daddy inside. It smelled funny and Nata explained to her that it was because the house was freshly renovated. They looked around but Wanda didn't like the house. She didn't know why but it wasn't their house. And the garden was way too small! No room for a puppy and a kitten! And Uncle Tony had hinted that she could wish for a pony for her birthday since she was now taking riding lessons and daddy had said immediately no, but Uncle Tony had winked at her. And this garden was not big enough for a pony!

They gave the lady the keys back when they stepped outside and waited until she was gone. "What do you think?" Daddy asked her.

"I don't like it." She answered truthfully.

"Me neither." Mommy sighed. "And this has been the most promising one so far."

Daddy nodded. "Yeah, I didn't like it either. Finding a house is harder than I thought."

Nata and daddy both looked sad and Wanda wondered how long they had been looking for a house. Since some bad man had taken mommy and daddy had been so scared? That'd happened before Christmas and Easter was soon... And Wanda's birthday was in September and the pony had to live _somewhere_!

"Let's get some cake pops!" Nata suggested and they stopped by a cute bakery on their way home.

Sharon was checking her mail when they walked into the entrance hall of their building. Daddy was groaning and Nata chuckled. Why couldn't they have run into May or Peter?

"Steve!" Sharon was smiling brightly at daddy. Her smile wasn't as bright when she looked at Wanda or Nata. She was pretty sure that Sharon couldn't stand them and only liked daddy.

"Sharon, hi." Daddy said in the tone he always used when he didn't want to talk to someone.

"How are you? How's work?" Sharon was only paying attention to daddy. Rude! But not that Wanda wanted to talk to her. No, she wanted to go upstairs and be _alone_ with her parents! Uncle Sammy had given her a new board game and she finally wanted to play it!

"Good." Daddy answered annoyed and Nata was grinning.

"So, my shower is not working properly...Could you maybe take a look at it?"

She saw daddy rolling his eyes which he always said was not nice! Mommy was still grinning when she spoke up. "You might wanna call the landlord for that. Steve won't be living here for long."

"What?" Sharon looked shocked.

"Yeah." Daddy said. "We're looking for a bigger place. It's too small for the three of us."

"You're moving in together?" Stupid Sharon was still shocked but daddy and Nata ignored her and walked towards the stairs. Wanda stuck her tongue out and then followed her parents.

Daddy made dinner while she and mommy sat at the kitchen table and looked at brochures of houses. Nata asked her to tell her what she liked and didn't like and she listened to her carefully and wrote everything down because she said it was important that all three of them liked the new house.

They played the board game after dinner and then daddy let her style his hair. He'd grown it out a bit and he looked so different now with his beard and hair but he was still very handsome!

Natasha grinned when she saw them and took a photo with her phone. "I think that's gonna be our Christmas card. You look very handsome!"

Daddy threw a hair tie at mommy but she only laughed and said it was time for bed.

* * *

Nata's birthday had been last week and daddy still hadn't ask her to marry him! They'd made breakfast in bed for her and later daddy had gone with her to a fancy restaurant and Wanda had looked for a ring on mommy's finger the next morning when they'd picked her up from Granny but there had been none. Apparently daddy had giving her _diamond earrings_. How boring! But she always wore them and the necklace he'd given her for Christmas so she had to like the jewelry.

Daddy had left for DC last night and she was alone with mommy. She came into her room and snuggled with her under the blanket.

"Wanda?"

"Yes?" She played with Nata's long hair. Her hair was so pretty!

"I know that you're disappointed that your father still hasn't proposed to me. I noticed how sad you looked when I told you that he got me earrings for my birthday."

Nata always noticed _everything._ It was kind of creepy. "Don't you want to marry daddy? You've been together for sooo long!"

She chuckled and kissed the top of her head. She loved it when mommy and daddy gave her kisses. "We've been together for ten months, sweetie. That's not that long."

"Are you never gonna get married? I asked Uncle Sammy to google something for me."

"And what?"

She hid her face in Nata's shoulder. "How to adopt someone." She mumbled into her shirt. "And you have to be married to daddy to adopt me."

Nata made her look at her. "Sweetie, do you think we're not getting married because I don't want to be your mother?"

"...maybe..."

"Oh, Wanda! I love you more than...More than I can express in words. Your father and I talked about it and we both want me to adopt you one day so that we are both your legal parents. So that I have the same rights as your father."

"Really?" But why weren't they doing that now?!

Nata smiled. "Yes, really. But I have to get used to the idea of marriage and that has _nothing_ to do with you." Mommy looked sad somehow. "And I love your father. He's the love of my life. But...There's something I have to tell you...I've been married before."

"What?" She gasped. Could you only marry once?

"I was very young and dumb. The man I married...He wasn't a good man, he was nothing like your father. He only caused me pain and he had indirectly something to do with what happened to me last Winter."

"Was he evil?"

"You could say that. I know that your father is _nothing_ like him and he would never hurt me but I'm still...I'm still a bit scared even though I know I have nothing to fear." Mommy smiled sadly. "Stupid, right?"

"No!" She shook her head. "I know that no one can take me away from daddy but I still sometimes think they can."

Nata kissed her forehead. "But I do want to marry your father one day and adopt you. I love you and your dad more than anything in this world."

"Natasha?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

She was gonna ask the question she wanted to ask for months. "Can I call you mommy?"

"Do you really want that?" She asked with tears in her eyes.

"Yes."

"Then of course you can call me that, sweetie. I want nothing more than to be your mother."

"I love you, _mommy._ "

"I love you, too." Mommy said and beamed brightly at her.

Daddy looked pretty happy when he came home and heard her calling Natasha mommy. He hugged them both and told them how much he loved them. Mommy started crying and daddy swiped her tears away with his thumbs.

* * *

Mommy was on a business trip in Canada and she and daddy were alone at their new house. They'd moved in two weeks ago and they still had so much to do! And she was still mad at Uncle Tony because he hadn't gotten her a pony for her birthday last month! She was sure that daddy had something to do with that!

Mommy had told daddy to decorate the new house for Halloween but he still hadn't done it. Buckybear had said yesterday that daddy would sleep on the couch if he didn't decorate the house before mommy came home. Daddy said with a bright smile that she'd be focused on something else when she'd come home. But that was all he'd said and Wanda didn't know what it meant.

"Wanda, wake up." Daddy came into her room (that was so much bigger than her old one and mommy had helped her decorate her new canopy bed with lots of fairy lights!) and kissed her forehead. "Wake up."

"No." That was not fair! There was no school today because of a teacher thingy and it was still dark outside! "Go away."

Daddy chuckled. "I'm pretty sure you want to get up."

"No!" She hugged buckybear harder and pulled the blanket over her head.

"I'm going shopping and I need your help." Daddy said and he sounded very happy.

She pulled the blanket down a little bit to look at him. Daddy _hated_ shopping _._ Mommy was now buying his clothes for him. "For what?"

Daddy was grinning and he looked very excited. "For choosing the right engagement ring for your mommy of course!"


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter XVII

Asking Natasha to marry him had been on his mind for some time now. They'd finally moved into their new house and he could see how much fun Natasha had to furnish every room. She'd put extra effort in decorating Wanda's room and it really looked beautiful. Wanda seemed so proud when she'd showed the others her new room and proudly told them that her _mother_ had helped her with everything.

Natasha and Wanda had such a special bond and it felt like Nat had always been with them. They had only been together for a year but he felt like he'd know her forever. And he knew that he would never love anyone else. Natasha was the _one_ and he wanted to marry her. He wanted to be her husband. They'd talked more about marriage and he could sense that she was ready. She'd dropped hints in the last weeks and he knew that she wanted a real proposal. And his girl would get one.

Wanda had been talking nonstop about engagement rings on their way to Manhattan and he had been pretty surprised when she'd pulled out a cardboard underneath her bed that was covered in cutout photos of diamond rings. Apparently she'd cut them out of her grandmother's magazines.

The new house and everything had pretty expensive but he shared the cost with Natasha and the shares Tony had gifted him for his thirtieth birthday made it possible for him to afford a new house _and_ a ring for Natasha.

He went with Wanda to a few jewelry stores and he'd been amazed how much his kid knew about diamonds! She knew more about them than him! She explained to him that her granny had let her use her Pinterest account and she'd pinned dozens of engagement rings. They both agreed that Natasha should have an elegant and timeless ring. Nothing too flashy but something that was as beautiful as her. They stopped at Tiffany and finally found the one. A platinum ring with a diamond in emerald cut accompanied by two smaller diamonds (in baguette cut as both Wanda and the jeweler explained). The ring wasn't cheap but Natasha was going to wear it her entire life and she deserved a beautiful ring.

Wanda was very proud of the fact that she'd helped him choose the ring for her mother and he was glad that his daughter loved his future wife so much. He would have never fallen that deeply in love with Natasha if she wouldn't love his daughter.

He made Wanda promise him that she wouldn't tell Natasha anything about the ring when she would call tonight. She'd called every day when she was away and he needed the proposal to be a surprise. He knew that Natasha didn't want anything fancy or big but it had to be a surprise.

Natasha called after dinner and talked to them for over an hour and told them that she would be home tomorrow evening which meant that he would propose tomorrow. _Oh God!_

He and Wanda got up early the next day (thankfully it was the weekend) so they had the entire day to prepare everything. They cleaned the house (he still hadn't decorated for Halloween but that would have clashed with the proposal) and he went to every florist in their neighborhood to get enough white rose petals (Natasha hated red roses) and bought a dozen candles. He let Wanda throw the rose petals from the front door to the living room and she was basically exploding with excitement. She'd probably wanted this more than her parents. He asked Happy to text him when he'd picked Natasha and Pepper up from the airport so he would know when Natasha would be home. He told Wanda to get changed and he quickly put on a dress shirt and slacks. Wanda had chosen a dress that Natasha had bought for her and wore as always the bracelet Nat had given her a year ago.

Just like he'd asked Happy he honked two times and he told Wanda to greet her mother at the door. He quickly lit the candles and waited in the living room for them. The champagner and the kid version for Wanda were cooled and sushi from Nat's favorite restaurant was in the fridge. Wanda had always refused to try sushi until she'd seen Nat eat it and since her mother was her idol she'd tried it as well and was now hooked on avocado sushi.

"Mommy!" Wanda squealed and he heard Natasha laughing.

"Hi, my little sunshine. I missed you so much!"

God, he was so fucking nervous. Technically he knew that she would say yes, but his heart was still hammering wildly in his chest.

"Come!" Wanda said.

"Why are the lights not on...What am I stepping on?" Natasha sounded confused and their daughter just giggled.

"Come, mommy!"

Wanda came with Natasha to the doorway and he went down on one knee. Natasha gasped and clasped the hand that wasn't holding Wanda's over her mouth.

He smiled and opened the ring box. Wanda tugged Natasha towards him. "Natalia Alianovna Romanova, you are the love of my life and the best mother I could want for Wanda. We are so much happier since you came into our lives. Natasha sweetheart, will you marry me?"

"Yes!" Natasha breathed and Wanda squealed so loud that he was glad that they didn't share any walls with their neighbors. "Yes, I'll marry you!" She knelt down as well and grabbed his face to kiss him breathless. She pulled away to include Wanda into their embrace.

"Do you like the ring?" Wanda mumbled, tugged between them.

"What? Right, the ring!" Natasha laughed and pulled away. "I haven't really looked at it." He smiled and picked the ring box up that he had dropped when Natasha had attacked his lips. He held it up to her and she smiled softly. "It's perfect. I love it."

"You have to put it on her finger, daddy!" Wanda ordered and they both laughed. Natasha held out her left hand to him and he slid the ring on her finger.

"I love you." He whispered hoarsely, overwhelmed with emotions. They were engaged!

"I love you, too." Natasha breathed with tears in her eyes. "I love you so much."

* * *

Apparently Wanda thought that he and Nat would get married immediately after the engagement and was more than disappointed when they told her that they would wait until next year. The house was still not completely done and they didn't want to plan a wedding on top of that. But he and Nat both agreed that they just wanted a small wedding with their friends and family. Nothing fancy or big. Maybe just a courthouse wedding but then Tony suggested that they could get married at his mansion in Rhode Island with view of the ocean and they decided to get married there.

They had invited their closets friends and family over for dinner and he was glad that Natasha had insisted to buy the giant dinner table. Their friends had been very happy for them and his mother had been over the moon that he was _finally_ getting married. She'd welcomed Natasha with open arms who'd told him later that night that she couldn't believe that she had a family again.

Wanda had a sleepover at the Bartons tonight and he was looking forward to have his fiance all to himself. He wanted to cook for her and then he hoped they would spend the rest of the night in their bedroom. Wanda now sometimes burst in the middle of the night into their room with ideas for the wedding and two times she'd almost caught them having sex...He cringed every time he thought about that. They had been _this_ close to making love when the bedroom door opened and Wanda came in screaming if they could train penguins to walk down the isle to be ring bearers. Natasha'd pulled her panties back up in record time and threw his shirt back on. Wanda had been so excited about her idea that she hadn't noticed her father awkwardly sitting on the bed with a pillow on his lap. The other time Natasha's head been under the blankets and she'd effortlessly told Wanda that she'd been looking for one of her earrings. He'd heard from other parents that their kids had walked in on them having actual sex and he prayed that it would never happen to them. Making love was a natural and beautiful thing but he wanted Wanda for as long as possible to be in the dark about what mommy and daddy did when she was asleep or not a home.

He just got home and wanted to take a quick shower before he would make dinner. He was thinking a nice spaghetti Carbonara like they'd had on their first date. He showered and put on one of these tight boxer briefs that Tasha liked so much on him. He had been more of a boxer shorts guy before her but he could wear boxer briefs for her when she always wore such nice and sexy lingerie for him.

He just walked downstairs when the front door opened and Nat walked in. He was a bit surprised that she was already home from work since she was working on a new project.

"Hi, sweetheart." He smiled brightly at her because he couldn't just help it every time he saw her. He still didn't know what he had done right in his life to end up with her.

"Hey." She looked a bit tired and he went over to her to wrap her into his arms. He tilted her chin up to kiss her and he felt her relax in his arms. He was licking his way into her mouth thinking that they could make a brief detour to their bedroom before he'd make dinner. "Steve." She pulled away from his lips and she just looked sad and defeated.

"What's wrong?" He asked worriedly. Did something happen to her?

"I went to my gynecologist during my lunch break today to talk about getting pregnant." She said almost shyly. They'd talked about the topic before that they both wanted more children. They didn't want Wanda to be an only child and Natasha'd mentioned that she would love to carry a child. She wanted to experience a pregnancy and they were both sure that it would also be an exciting time for Wanda to see her sibling grow inside her mommy's belly. He also wouldn't mind adopting another child but Natasha seemed a bit worried that three children might be a bit too much for them right now. But he didn't get why the visit to her doctor made her so grim.

"What's wrong? Are you sick?"

"No." Natasha shook her head. "Not really. It's just that me becoming pregnant...the chances of that happening are pretty low...Dr. Cho did some tests and me being pregnant would be almost a miracle."

"Oh, sweetheart." He kissed her forehead and pulled her into a hug. "I'm so sorry."

"I know that there are other ways. One of those ways had given you Wanda and she's the most precious thing but...but I would really love to feel a child growing inside of me." She mumbled into his chest. "I don't want to be pregnant _right now._ But next year, a few months after the wedding that would be nice..."

"We'll try, sweetheart." He cupped her face and kissed her. "We'll start trying after the wedding and see what happens, okay? There's still a chance that it can happen and if it doesn't, then we'll look into other ways of having a second child." He kissed her again. It didn't matter to him if their next kid was adopted or of their own blood. He couldn't imagine loving a biological child more than Wanda. No, he loved his daughter and he would love the next baby just as much.

"You're not mad?" Natasha asked quietly.

"What? No! What would make you think that?"

"You sounded so excited when we were picturing a pregnancy." She answered and he felt guilty. Yes, he had been picturing Natasha pregnant and he'd loved it. He could see her with her baby bump sitting outside on their patio with Wanda's hands on her mother's belly feeling the baby kick. How he would rub oil on her belly and talk to their baby when Natasha was asleep promising the little one that he would always love them, their mother and sister.

"I would love for you to be pregnant one day. That's true. It would be a new and beautiful experience for all three of us. But adopting a child is also a beautiful thing." He said and Natasha nodded. "Maybe we should focus on you adopting Wanda next year after the wedding and then we'll see. But don't think that his has changed anything. I love you, Nat. You're the love of my life. Nothing will ever change that."

She smiled up to him. "And I love you. So much."

* * *

Tony wanted to rent out a strip club for Steve's bachelor party but he said immediately no. He didn't want that and why should he be looking at naked strangers when he had the most beautiful woman at home? Tony just rolled his eyes and was probably disappointed because he didn't have an excuse to go to a strip club. And it wouldn't have been fair to go to a strip club when Natasha definitely wasn't going to one. No, she was going with Wanda, Laura, Laura's daughter, Pepper, his mother and Bucky's sister Becca to a spa in the Hamptons. He spent the weekend with Tony, Sam, Bucky and Clint in Atlantic City checking out the casinos. He didn't really need a bachelor weekend but it was nice to spend time with his friends and Natasha deserved a nice weekend off.

God, he couldn't stop thinking about the fact that next weekend he would marry Natasha! Natasha called him during the night (even though their friends had forbidden them from talking during the weekend) and he ran his mouth off telling her what he wanted to do to her on their wedding night.

The week went by incredibly slowly but then it was finally Saturday and they would get married today! He barely slept the night listening to the ocean outside and picturing his marriage with Natasha. God, he was so love with that woman!

He'd just put his tuxedo on when there was a knock on the door. He opened it and Fury was standing in front of him. Natasha wanted him to officiate the wedding and he happily agreed. Without Fury, Natasha might wouldn't be with them anymore...He quickly pushed all thoughts of that horrible night away.

"Looking sharp, Rogers." Fury said and let himself in.

"Thanks."

"Look, I just wanted to talk to you before the wedding. I know that you are a good man and Natasha loves you very much, but I still have to make sure that you'll treat her well. She's very special and she deserves a happy life."

"I know, sir. And I'll do everything in my power to make sure that she gets everything she wants." He answered. "Natasha and Wanda are my world. Their happiness is more important to me than anything else in the world."

Fury nodded. "Good. I'm glad to know that Ivan's little girl finally got her happy ending." He smiled briefly and then left the room. Steve was glad that he'd gotten Fury's blessing and hoped that her parents would have approved of him for their daughter as well.

He walked outside onto the terrace where the ceremony would take place. Everything was decorated beautifully and most of their friends were already sitting in their seats. His mother smiled proudly at him from the first row and he took his place under the floral arch.

The music started and Bucky and Laura walked down the aisle being best man and maid of honor. Wanda came in next and everyone awed at how cute she looked in her soft pink dress throwing rose petals. She was also carrying the wedding rings. Wanda beamed at him when she sat down next to her grandmother.

Then the music changed and everyone stood up for the bride. The French doors opened and she was...God, she was a truly a vision. He couldn't take his eyes of her and barely noticed that Clint was walking her down the aisle. She just looked _so beautiful_ in her simple silk wedding dress. The dress just highlighted her beauty and she looked the perfect mix between sexy and elegant. She smiled brightly at him and he was pretty sure that he had tears in his eyes. He was actually going to marry this amazing woman!

Clint placed her hand in Steve's and he gave it a squeeze. "Hi."

"Hi." She whispered back. "You look very handsome."

"And you...God, look at you!"

She blushed lightly and Fury cleared his throat to start the ceremony. He was barely listening to him and only looking at Natasha waiting for the moment they were finally husband and wife. They'd told each other their vows already last night before they'd separated for the night because they wanted their words of love and promises to stay between them. They had only been meant for their ears.

"Do you, Steven Grant Rogers, take Natalia Alianovna Romanova to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do." He said full of emotions and Natasha smiled.

"And do you, Natalia Alianovna Romanova, take Steven Grant Rogers to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do." Natasha breathed out and the love in her eyes made his knees weak.

"Then I pronounce you husband and wife." Fury announced and Wanda squealed in the background. "You may kiss the bride!"

Natasha laughed and he cupped her face gently to finally kiss his _wife_. They were married!


	18. Chapter 18

_Four months later_

Natasha was more than surprised when Wanda's school called to inform her that Wanda had been in a fight. That she'd apparently _started_ the fight which didn't sound like her little _smerch_ at all. Steve was currently on a book tour with Thor Odinson in New England so she had to leave work early today to pick up Wanda. She really wondered what had happened at school that made Wanda behave like this.

She took a cab to get back to Brooklyn anxious about what to do. She'd tried calling Steve but he didn't pick up and she wasn't sure how to handle the situation. Should she ground Wanda? But she was only eight years old, wasn't that a bit drastic? She nervously played with the rings on her left ring finger during the cab drive wondering how Steve would handle this. Her sweet and wonderful Steve who loved her and Wanda so much and who'd taught Wanda to be kind to others. Another reason why she couldn't believe that Wanda just started some fight and gotten physical. No, she was sure her little girl had a reason.

She paid the cab driver and quickly tottered through the hallways of the school until she found the office of the principal. Wanda was sitting on a bench and her cardigan had a rip and her knee was scratched. Jesus, what happened? She was gonna murder whoever did that to her!

She took a deep breath. "Sweetie, what happened?"

Wanda looked up from the floor. "I was just trying to do the right thing, mommy!"

"I'm sure you did. Can you tell me what happened?" She caressed Wanda's cheek. "I wanna hear your side of the story first."

Her little girl opened her mouth but the door of the principal's office opened. "Miss Romanoff?" Mister Talbot asked with a raised eyebrow, most definitely judging her outfit. God, this was New York and she was just wearing a red leather pencil skirt and high heels. That was not _that_ crazy of an outfit! It wasn't her fault that he seemed to prefer the stay at home moms who wore leggings all the time and baked him muffins!

"It's Misses Rogers." She said with a light scowl in her voice. Her and Steve had married over four months ago! Talbot should have remembered it by now! She had been hesitant to change her name since it had been her family name, but she'd realized that her parents would want her to do what made her happy, and she wanted to have the same name as Steve and Wanda. So everyone knew that they were _one_ family.

"Right, _Mrs. Rogers_. Please come in."

She quickly kissed Wanda's forehead and told her that she would be right back and followed Talbot into his office. And one of those fucking muffin baskets was on his desk.

"Can your husband not make it?"

"No, he's on a business trip."

"Very well, then." Talbot sat down and motioned for her to sit down as well. "I don't know how many rights your husband gave you since you're only Wanda's stepmother-"

"I'm her mother!" She shot back. Wanda was her child! She _hated_ the word stepmother! She was Wanda's mother, she loved her more than anything. God, the feeling she got every time Wanda called her _mommy_! She had almost cried when Wanda had asked her one morning after she'd explained to her why she and Steve weren't married yet if she could call her mommy. Wanda and Steve were her entire world, the reason for her happiness. God, why did the adoption process take so fucking long? She wanted to be Wanda's mother in every sense of the word!

"Well, according to State Law you're only the spouse of a parent but your husband put your name on the contact sheet. But that's not what we're here to talk about. Wanda got into a physical fight today. She punched Thaddeus Ross jr. in the face and then pushed him to the ground."

"That doesn't explain the gash on her knee or her ripped cardigan!"

"Well, Thaddeus had to defend himself, didn't he?"

"What caused the fight?" She still didn't think that Wanda just randomly started hitting people. No, she would never do that without a really good reason. She was her father's daughter after all.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" She asked with raised eyebrows. What an ass! "Two children get into a fight in your school and you don't want to know _why_? What kind of problem solving is that? What's that supposed to teach the kids?"

"Um...I..." Talbot stuttered with a red head and she wanted to throw that fucking muffin basket against his head. "Your stepdaughter is suspended until the end of the week."

She gritted her teeth. That fucker said stepdaughter on purpose. "No, she's not. We're gonna talk to my _daughter_ and ask her what happened. And _then_ we'll see if some form of punishment is in order." She stood up without waiting for Talbot's approval and opened the door. "Sweetie, can you come in for a second?"

Wanda looked a bit scared but walked into the office and sat down on one of the two chairs in front of Talbot's desk. Natasha sat down next to her. "Tell us what happened today, okay?"

"Okay." She said shyly and looked at her hands in her lap. "Teddy was saying mean things about Pietro. The new kid. Stuff like he should go back from where he came from and making fun of his clothes because they weren't as fancy as his. He said some really mean things and Pietro just stood there. I could see the tears in his eyes. His English isn't so good yet, but I know that he understood everything they said to him. And then Teddy stole Pietro's backpack and I know that his parents had to save for it and he was so proud of it and Teddy just took it and threw it into the trash can. He's so mean! And Pietro started crying because he didn't know what to tell his parents and then Teddy and his friends were laughing at him...And I just snapped, mommy." Wanda looked up at him. "Daddy always says to stand up for the little guy, so I did! Teddy was pushing Pietro so I punched him in the face. He ripped my cardigan-" She had tears in her eyes. "And you bought me it back from your honeymoon, mommy! So I shoved him to the ground and then his friend pushed me and I fell and I scratched my knee."

God, she was so proud of her little girl! "I'm not mad that your cardigan is ripped, sweetie." She gave her a soft smile. "Don't worry!" She turned to look at Talbot. "The way I see it, Wanda stood up to injustice and bullying. Instead of going after Wanda, maybe you should have a talk with Thaddeus Ross and his mini-me! Talk to them about xenophobia! Unbelievable! This poor boy comes with his family to the States for a better and _safer_ life and then he gets bullied and no one cares about that!"

Talbot looked embarrassed. "I...Wanda won't be suspended. And I'll talk to Pietro about the incident."

"Don't think I won't talk to his parents to make sure that you did! And you better suspend this Thaddeus kid! And make sure his parents buy Pietro a new backpack!" She stood up and took Wanda's hand. "I'm taking Wanda home. Don't you agree that she deserves to have the afternoon off?"

"Uh, yeah...sure..." Talbot seemed to be in shock.

"Excellent. Have a good day, sir." She said and left with Wanda the office.

"You're not mad, mommy?" Wanda asked when they were outside the school.

"No, of course not. Even though I would have preferred it if you wouldn't have used your fists but you stood up for this boy. I'm proud of that. And I know that your dad will be, too."

"Do we have to tell him?"

Natasha had to laugh. "I'm afraid so. But he won't be mad either, sweetie. So, you wanna get some ice cream?"

"Really, mommy?"

"Yup. And tell me more about your friend Pietro. I think you should invite him over for a play date some time."

"He's from Sokovia like me! He's a year older, but they put him in our class because he can't speak English that well yet. But he's a fast learner and he runs super fast, mommy!"

* * *

Natasha was sipping on her iced tea sitting on their patio in the garden and scrolling through the website of _Agent Provocateur_ to find a little something for Steve's birthday to surprise him. He was always very happy when she bought new lingerie but he also looked the same way at her when she was just wearing one of his shirts to bed. She knew that he didn't really care about what she wore in the end and he loved her for who she was but she loved to doll herself up for him. The way he complimented her and the adorable blush on his cheeks when she showed him her lingerie. He was very into black lace and she had a drawer full of it that was hidden well enough so Wanda wouldn't stumble across it when she went through her closet. She didn't mind her daughter trying on her dresses and shoes for fun but she didn't think she wanted Wanda to ask her why some of her bras were see through. Nope, that would be super awkward.

She heard Steve coming and quickly closed her laptop so she wouldn't ruin his surprise. She found a very sexy lace teddy that she was sure Steve would enjoy. They would just have a BBQ at their place to celebrate his birthday with friends and family, and Sarah offered to watch Wanda so they could have a romantic night. They didn't tell anyone but they were trying for a baby. She had been shocked when her doctor had told her that her chances of getting pregnant were pretty slim but she wanted to try it anyway. She wouldn't mind adopting another child but she would also love to experience a pregnancy. Steve hinted that he wanted both but she was a bit hesitant to have _three_ children. That sounded like a lot of work!

"Hi, sweetheart." He kissed her temple before he sat down next to her on their little outdoor sofa.

"Wanda sleeping?"

"Yup. I think her and Pietro are gonna be friends for a very long time." He said with a smile. She nodded, she liked the boy and he and Wanda really got along with each other.

"Matt called earlier today." Steve said while taking a sip from her iced tea. He had been a bit uncomfortable with hiring her ex lover as their attorney but Matt was very good as his job and they had never been something serious. The only man she'd ever truly fallen in love with was her _husband_.

"And?"

"He thinks that the adoption will be done soon. We gave the court everything they needed and they just have to agree to it. He doesn't think they'll have any objections." Steve smiled and kissed her softly. "You're gonna be Wanda's mother soon. I mean you already are, but we'll have it on paper."

"God, I can't wait." She whispered and kissed him. She wanted that more than anything. Her little family meant _everything_ to her. She never thought she was capable of that much love until Steve and Wanda. God, she was so thankful to Wanda that she'd buttered up her father to her. Telling her every Wednesday afternoon how great her daddy was and that he was single.

Steve cupped her face and nuzzled her noise with his. The way he looked at her always made her knees weak. "God, look at you." He whispered hoarsely. "I must have done something right in my life."

She knew she was blushing, something she'd never done before Steve. "I love you." He smiled at that and kissed her deeply. Her hands were roaming over his body and he pressed her against him so that she was pretty much sitting on his lap. God, she'd never wanted anyone that much before. A few colleagues had warned her that a marriage would bring boredom into a relationship but she didn't get why anyone would say that. They were _crazy_ about each other.

"Bed?" He murmured against her lips before claiming them a in heated kiss.

"You read my mind, darling." She ran her fingers through his beard and then tugged on it. She just loved his beard and it flattered her so much that he kept it for her, even though he probably didn't miss shaving every day. Steve chuckled and picked her up with her legs wrapped around his waist, and carried her upstairs into their bedroom.

* * *

Today was Wanda's ninth birthday and they had a very big surprise for her. Natasha thanked all her lucky stars that the adoption process had been through before Wanda's birthday and she was now _officially_ her mother! Her name was on Wanda's birth and adoption certificates. They were all now a family! She had the same rights as Steve and could take care of Wanda if anything ever happened to her husband (which she prayed would never happen!).

They'd wrapped the framed adoption certificate in pretty paper and were surprised that Wanda was still sleeping. They'd expected her to storm into their bedroom yelling at them to get up because it was her birthday.

Steve carefully opened the door to Wanda's room and she was really still asleep. They smiled at each other and quietly walked into her room. God, they both had been crying hysterically when they'd held the signed documents in their hands two days ago. Natasha was still amazed that they had managed to keep it a secret!

Steve sat down on Wanda's bed and gently shook her awake. "Wake up, birthday girl!" Wanda groaned and opened one eye. "Happy Birthday, Wanda!"

"Happy Birthday, _smerch_!" Natasha singsonged and Wanda seemed to be slowly waking up.

"It's my birthday!" She sat up so fast that she almost knocked her father off her bed. "Thank you! I'm now nine years old! I'm almost an adult!"

Steve chuckled. "We still have a few years until then, sweetie." He hugged her and kissed her temple. "Happy Birthday!"

Natasha hid the gift behind her back and bent down to kiss her sweet little girl's forehead. "Happy Birthday, my sunshine."

"Thank you, mommy!" Wanda beamed. She handed Wanda the present who looked at it skeptically. "No pony?" God, she was gonna kill Tony!

Steve laughed. "Just open it, sweetie. I think it's better than a pony."

Wanda still looked hesitant but she unwrapped the frame and read it with narrowed eyes. "Adoption?" Her eyes went wide and she gasped. "Does that mean you're my official mommy now? You adopted me like daddy adopted me?"

"Yes." She said with a smile. "Are you happy, Wanda?"

"Yes!" Wanda squealed and threw her arms in the air. The framed adoption certificate dropped onto the fluffy carpet next to her bed. "We're finally a real family!" She threw herself at them and Steve looked at her over Wanda's head with tears in his eyes. She mouthed an 'I love you' to him and smiled happily. She finally had a family and a home. Today was Wanda's big day, but Natasha couldn't wait to tell her loved ones that she was pregnant.

The End

* * *

 _Thank you for reading and a special thank you to those who commented! Your feedback means a lot!_


	19. Epilogue

_Surprise!_

* * *

 _Epilogue_

Steve was able to leave work earlier today, but no one was here yet when he got home. Natasha and Wanda were probably still at the community center where his wife was still giving dance classes and their daughter eagerly attended, telling everyone that the dance instructor was _her mom._

Wanda just adored Natasha and she was _so_ excited that her mother was pregnant. Their little girl had been over the moon when they had told her that she would become a big sister. He had been worried that Wanda would feel neglected when she heard that a baby was on the way, but no, their little sunshine was very happy that she was going to be a sister.

And he.. _.god_ , when Natasha had told him that she was pregnant...He had been surprised and so fucking happy. He had feared that Natasha becoming pregnant wouldn't happen and that it would destroy his wife because he had seen how much she wanted it and he was so fucking ecstatic that she was carrying his child now.

Natasha had started to show last month and Wanda always pressed her little hands on her mother's belly, waiting to feel her sibling kick. So far she hadn't felt anything (neither did he when he put his hand on his wife's baby bump when they were in bed), but Natasha said that she started to feel the baby kick her organs. They had bought a lot of baby books to explain everything to Wanda and their daughter even came with them to the doctor's appointments. It was important to them that Wanda was included in everything and didn't feel any different just because Natasha didn't give birth to her. No, they loved Wanda just as much as they loved the little bean.

He dropped his working bag with his laptop on the kitchen table and got himself a bottle of water. A photo of his two girls was smiling at him when he closed the fridge again. God, how lucky was he? He had a healthy and great kid, the most beautiful woman in the world had married him and another addition to their little family was on their way.

Seeing Natasha being pregnant was just beautiful. He saw how much she enjoyed it and Wanda was just wonderful to her mother. She looked out for her and always asked her if she needed anything. His favorite part of the day was when Natasha stepped out of the shower and rubbed body lotion onto her baby bump with a serene smile on her face. She always caught him watching her and made a come hither motion so he would kiss her. They always ended up back in bed when Wanda wasn't at home. And he couldn't help but smile when Wanda kissed her mommy goodbye and then pressed a kiss onto her mom's stomach to say goodbye to the baby. Wanda would be a great sister to the baby. He just knew that their two kids would be thick as thieves. He was already secretly thinking about a third child, but they should probably see how they could handle two kids before they tried for another baby or applied for adoption.

He heard the front door open and Wanda telling her mother something that he couldn't quite make out. Natasha laughed and he walked towards the hallway. Wanda was sitting on the bench and Nat was helping her out of her boots that she had gotten for Christmas from his mother.

"Hey, you two."

"Hi, daddy!" Wanda waved and pressed a kiss to Nat's cheek. "Thanks, mommy." She stood up to come over to him and hugged his waist. "I'm hungry. Did you make dinner?"

He laughed. "I just came home, sweetie." Wanda didn't look happy and he saw her walking into the kitchen out of the corner of his eye. Natasha had already removed her coat when he looked back at her and his eyes dropped immediately to her baby bump.

"My eyes are up here, mister." Natasha chided lightly and walked over to him. "Hi, my love." She slung her arms around his shoulders and pressed her bump against him.

"Hi, sweetheart." He smiled down at her and lowered his head to kiss her. Natasha hummed into the kiss and they just kissed for a few moments. "We should continue this when Wanda's asleep. You know, in our bed without any clothes."

Natasha grinned and pecked his lips. "So smooth, Mister Rogers. Are you trying to seduce me?"

"Always, Misses Rogers." He gave her perfect ass a light squeeze, causing Nat to laugh. "Now, let's make the kid something to eat before she tries to cook dinner herself."

"Yeah." Natasha placed her hand on her bump. "Me and the baby are hungry as well."

Wanda was talking about her horse show next weekend and both he and Natasha listened to her with a smile on their faces. Steve tucked Wanda into bed while Natasha still had to do a little bit of work in their office. She was still there when he came out of Wanda's room.

"I'm almost done." She smiled when he walked behind her and leaned forward to press kisses onto her neck. "Stop that." She laughed. "You're distracting me." He smiled to himself and kissed the back of her head before he left the office.

Natasha was sound asleep after he'd _seduced_ her thoroughly and he placed his hand on her stomach, waiting to see if he could feel the baby kick. He couldn't feel anything yet, but Natasha mumbled his name in her sleep, pressing herself closer to him, and that was pretty amazing as well.

* * *

Wanda helped him paint the walls of the nursery. Natasha was now seven months pregnant and it was time to finally take care of the nursery. They already had a crib, but they still had to get other furniture for the baby. And a stroller...God, there was so much they had to think of to get before their daughter was here. He smiled to himself. They were gonna have another beautiful girl. Wanda was super excited for a sister and he was happy that his fate was to be surrounded by beautiful and amazing girls. They hadn't had a name yet, but there was still time for that and he and Natasha agreed that they had to _meet_ their daughter to choose the right name for her.

He was drawing elephants with a pencil on the walls of the nursery and Wanda carefully colored them out. She just looked adorable, so deep in thought and concentrated to not get over the lines.

His gaze fell onto the little horse in the baby's crib. Wanda had saved her allowance (and she didn't get much because they didn't want to spoil her too much) and bought her little sister a stuffed animal since she didn't want to give up her buckybear (not that anyone had expected her to). The stuffed animal was _very well_ made and he figured that Bucky had pitched in because she had come home with the gift after she had spent the afternoon with her uncle. Wanda's savings couldn't have been more than twenty bucks and that horse looked like it had cost more than that.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, munchkin?"

"Um..." She stared to the ground and he wondered what was wrong. "Will you like the baby more than me? Because she's...like _you_?"

"What? No!" He immediately pulled his daughter into his arms. He'd always thought that she knew that her parents loved her as much as the baby. Wanda knew that she was adopted because he wanted her to know where she came from, but he never introduced her as his _adopted_ daughter. No, she was just his daughter. "I love you so much." He cupped her little, perfect face in his hands. Her green eyes were wide and it was insane how much she resembled Natasha, even though they shared no DNA.

"I was _meant_ to find you. You were _meant_ to be my daughter. Just like it was fate that we found Natasha. She was meant to be your mom and to be my wife." He brushed his thumb over Wanda's cheek. "We both love you so, so much. You are our child, just like the baby is. We love you and your little sister more than anything. You are my first girl." He beeped her nose and she giggled. "Without you, I wouldn't have any of this. No amazing and perfect daughter who is super smart, no Natasha and no baby. I wasn't truly happy until I looked into your eyes, Wanda. The day I found you...It changed everything for me. I didn't really know what love was until I met you, munchkin. You gave me everything. You are my child. You are Natasha's child. And we are so damn lucky that we get to be your parents. There is no difference between you and the baby. Okay?"

Wanda nodded and buried her little face in his neck. "I just...I just thought that you maybe would like the baby more because she's your blood." She mumbled into his skin. "I didn't really think like that until Teddy said that you like the baby more because she is your real family."

God, this _fucking kid_ again. "Well, Teddy is a douchebag." Wanda giggled and looked at him. "And he has no idea about our family. You are our _real_ family and we love so very much, Wanda. And I know that your sister will love you, too. She's gonna look up to you and yeah, you two are probably gonna be mad at each other from time to time, but you're gonna be sisters. And there's no stronger bond than that."

Wanda nodded. "I know. Can we not tell mommy about this?"

He frowned. "Why not? She'll tell you the same. You know much much she wanted to be your mother."

"I know. But she's so pregnant and I don't want to upset her."

He smiled at Wanda and kissed her forehead. "Oh, Wanda. You're such a sweet and amazing kid, you know that?"

He didn't tell Natasha about the conversation just like Wanda had asked, but Natasha's maternal instincts seemed to pick up that Wanda had been upset earlier and she spent the rest of the day with their daughter on the couch cuddling with her while they watched a Disney movie.

* * *

"Steve."

Someone was poking him. He was still half asleep so he didn't really care and tried to go back to sleep.

"Steve!" Now someone was punching his shoulder. _Ugh_!

"What?" He managed to get out. He was so tired. He surely still had a few hours until he had to get up.

"Steve! The baby's coming!"

Uh-huh. The baby was coming. Interesting. Couldn't Natasha wait to tell him that until it was time to get up? He hugged his pillow and was already drifting off again. Wait, _what_?!

He popped his eyes open and found Natasha leaning over him. "Get the fuck up! My water broke! It's time!" Natasha yelled and climbed out of the bed which wasn't very graceful anymore since she was nine months pregnant (not that he would ever tell her that, he valued his life).

"Uh, what am I supposed to do?" His mind was completely blank. The baby was coming! _Holy shit_.

Natasha looked like she regretted marrying him in that moment. "Call your mom so she can look after Wanda and then get me to the fucking hospital!" She snarled and grabbed the hospital bag that was next to the bedroom door.

God, he had to get his shit together. His wife was about to give birth and he had to be there for her. He called his mother while quickly changing into a shirt and jeans. She promised to be there as soon as possible, and Natasha wasn't in the bedroom anymore after he ended the call. He found her in the hallway leaning against the wall with Wanda by her side.

"Do you need anything, mommy?" Wanda asked with big eyes. "Is the baby coming now?"

"She's soon here." Natasha breathed out. "I'm at the beginning. The contractions aren't so bad yet."

"Do you want me to rub your back, mommy?"

Natasha nodded, turning around, and Wanda rubbed her little hands over the small of Natasha's back. Their kid was more of a support to Nat than he was. "Ma's on her way."

"I want to come with you!" Wanda whined. "Please!"

"No, sweetie." Natasha stroked Wanda's cheek. "You'll come when the baby's here. It could take hours until then. You would get bored."

"Your mom's right." They didn't want Wanda in the delivery room and he didn't even know if it was allowed. He didn't want Wanda to see her mother in pain. "It's better this way. I promise you that you will be the first one after us to see your sister."

Wanda chewed on her lip. "Okay. I wait until the baby's here."

He and Wanda helped Natasha downstairs and thankfully his mother showed up a few minutes later because he could see that Nat's contractions got worse, but she was downplaying it in front of their daughter.

His mother wished them good luck and reminded him to call her regularly and to take good care of her daughter in law before he got Natasha in the car they barely used and drove her to the hospital.

Natasha was groaning and panting next to him. "Oh God! Hurry, please!"

"I am!" He was driving faster than allowed and he was just glad that the streets were almost empty at this time.

They reached the hospital in record time and he helped his wife into a wheel chair because the contractions were getting worse. It had only been an hour since her water had broken, but Natasha was sure that the baby was soon here. He really hoped that for her. He didn't want her to be in labor for hours. The doctor decided that Natasha had to go immediately to the delivery room and not a normal hospital room. The baby was really coming.

"I can't believe I let you do this to me!" Natasha snapped while they checked her cervix. She looked terrified when the doctor told her that she was almost at ten centimeters. She grabbed his hand and almost squished it to mush. _Jesus_ , had she always been this strong? Her face was twisted in pain and he just wished he could take that pain away from her.

"I'm scared." She whispered when the doctor and her nurse were gone.

"You can do this. You're so strong, sweetheart." He assured her and pressed a kiss to her sweaty forehead.

"This is all your fault!" She hissed out and he was sure that she was having another contraction. "Why couldn't you keep it in your pants! You did this to me!"

He tried to bite back his grin and washed the sweat off her face with a wash cloth. "You almost made it, Natasha. The baby is almost here. You're gonna have our beautiful baby in your arms very soon. You're doing so great."

Natasha looked like she wanted to punch him but the doctor came back into the room. She checked Natasha's cervix again and announced that it was time to push.

His wife looked at him with a scared expression and he nodded at her. "You can do this. I love you, Nat."

She nodded back and started to push when she got hit by another contraction. And after that, everything happend so fast and the doctor was already laying the baby on Natasha's chest while Steve cut the umbilical cord.

"Hi, baby." Natasha whispered in awe and placed her hand on their baby's back. God, their little girl was here. And she was fucking perfect. He fought back against the tears in his eyes and looked at his wife and their new baby daughter. "Welcome, my sweetheart." Natasha looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "We made this."

"Yeah, we did." He rasped out and cradled his daughter's head. "Hi, sweetheart. Welcome into this world."

Two hours later Natasha was sitting on her hospital bed with their daughter in her arms and he opened the door to get Wanda. She was sitting next to her grandmother and immediately jumped off her seat when she saw him.

"Are you ready to meet your baby sister?"

"Yes!" Wanda beamed and ran to him.

"She's sleeping so you have to be quiet, okay?" Wanda nodded seriously and he walked with her into the room.

"Hi, my little sunshine." Natasha was brightly smiling at them. She looked so beautiful with their baby in her arms. "This is your sister."

Wanda walked to her mother and looked at her sister. "She's so tiny." She whispered and touched with her finger carefully the baby's cheek. "She's so cute!"

Natasha smiled. "Just as cute as her big sister. Your daddy and I decided that you should be the one to name her."

"Really?" Wanda looked from her to him with big eyes.

"Yes, really."

Wanda bit her lip, looking at her sister. Natasha made space on her bed and told Wanda to join her. Steve remembered to get his phone out and took a picture of his three girls.

"She looks like an Emma." Wanda decided. "I think she's Emma."

"That's a beautiful name." Natasha smiled and he had to agree. "Welcome to the family, Emma Rogers."


End file.
